■ Jeff ‘Joffa’ Corfe is best known for his Collingwood Football Club Cheer Squad persona. Few know that he also works tirelessly for the
disadvantaged. Joffa took a trip to the country this week to explain his work to the Yea Football-Netball Club.
He is pictured with fellow Magpies supporter Russell Akers.
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ARIES: (March 21-April 20)
Lucky Colour:
Brown
Lucky Day:
Monday
Racing Numbers: 1-1-7-3
Lotto Numbers:
7-12-14-21-28-35
Travel is indicated and it may be lucky financially as
well. A contact from the past could be beneficial. Somebody may be asking for financial assistance, but be very
careful.

TAURUS: (April 21- May 20)
Lucky Colour:
Green
Lucky Day:
Thursday
Racing Numbers: 2-4-1-3
Lotto Numbers:
7-13-14-24-30-32
Many will be spending quite a bit of money on themselves. A lucky period for you in general, especially financially.

LEO: (July 23-August 22)
Lucky Colour:
Orange
Lucky Day:
Monday
Racing Numbers: 4-8-1-9
Lotto Numbers:
8-15-16-24-29-42
A very happy period with a lot of activity on the social
scene. Quite a few changes taking place and a financial
windfall is indicated.

● Isaac Taylor, tailor, 46 Gertrude St, Fitzroy. Circa 1866

VIRGO: (August 23- September 23)
Lucky Colour:
Beige
Lucky Day:
Friday
Racing Numbers: 2-9-3-1
Lotto Numbers:
11-15-23-35-37-40
A very good period for you financial through real estate
dealings. Also, an undertaking from the past is now coming good. If concentration is lacking, a nasty accident
could occur.
LIBRA: (September 24- October 23)
Lucky Colour:
Orange
Lucky Day:
Wednesday
Racing Numbers: 2-9-6-3
Lotto Numbers:
9-14-19-27-36-42
The romantic scene is in for a good time. There could be
some travel coming up. Be careful when driving.

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by using their ‘putaway’ service.
Newsagents should contact All Day
Distribution Pty Ltd, 169 Burwood Road,
Hawthorn, Vic 3122. Phone: (03) 9482
1145.

SCORPIO: (October 24- November 22)
Lucky Colour:
Blue
Lucky Day:
Friday
Racing Numbers: 2-7-1-4
Lotto Numbers:
7-12-14-28-42-44
There may be some strain in the family relationships.
Better to keep your nose out of other people's business.
A few changes are coming up and this could make your
life much more exciting.

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SAGITTARIUS: (November23- December 20)
Lucky Colour:
Light Blue
Lucky Day:
Tuesday
Racing Numbers: 1-3-2-1
Lotto Numbers:
7-3-12-21-28-45
You should be careful with problems with health as this
is not the time to play around. People close to you will
be willing to help, assistance is easier to come by now.

Back Copies
Back Copies - Archives
w ww .MelbourneObserv
e rr..com.au
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Back copies for 1969-89, 2002-15 may be
inspected by appointment at the State
Library of Victoria. 328 Swanston St,
Melbourne.

GEMINI: (May 21- June 21)
Lucky Colour:
Blue
Lucky Day:
Thursday
Racing Numbers: 4-1-7-3
Lotto Numbers:
4-12-19-27-38-42
Your love life is looking good. Some financial gains to
be made through real estate dealings. And, a past venture
that did not take, could now be successful.
CANCER: (June 22- July 22)
Lucky Colour:
Purple
Lucky Day:
Tuesday
Racing Numbers: 5-1-4-8
Lotto Numbers:
5-15-17-23-29-36
A few surprises in store whilst travelling. However, your
patience will be tested at home, be tactful and tolerant.
Many will become aware of their outlook and take more
care in their appearance.

CAPRICORN: (December 21- January 19)
Lucky Colour:
N/A
Lucky Day:
Tuesday
Racing Numbers: 5-1-1-4
Lotto Numbers:
5-11-27-35-42-44
Not the best time to get involved in family problems for
decisions of the money kind should be thought through
very carefully and for help, consult the experts.
AQUARIUS: (January 20- February 19)
Lucky Colour:
Green
Lucky Day:
Wednesday
Racing Numbers: 6-9-3-1
Lotto Numbers:
13-18-24-29-36-39
Do not let other people talk you out of ideas you already
know are good ones. Some surprise gains also indicated
soon and possibility of more fame or public exposure.

PISCES: (February 20- March 20)
Lucky Colour:
Mauve
Lucky Day:
Saturday
Racing Numbers: 8-9-3-1
Lotto Numbers:
11-18-24-3-26-36
Someone could be paying you something that they owe
you or your long lost relative could leave you something.
Not a good time to accuse anyone of anything so that
love life can prosper.

Jack stars in ‘Kitchen Bird’ Observer
■ Comedian Jack Druce presents his new
stand up show Kitchen Bird in August at Club
Voltare in North Melbourne
This is a chance to see his new hour of standup without waiting a whole year for the comedy
festival.
Since releasing his first stand-up special in
2016, Jack has been building his reputation as a
writer, touring his stand-up around the country
and writing for Australia’s prime-time comedy
shows, including Splendour in the Grass, audience warm up on ABC1’s QnA , comedy festivals all over Australia, and writing for Channel
10’s The Project.
This is a limited season of four shows only.
Tickets will be available at the door, but booking early is recommended to make sure of bookings.
Performance Dates:August 5, 12, 19, 26.
Venue: Club Voltaire 14 Raglan Street ,North
Melbourne.
Time: 8:30pm – 9:30pm
Price: $15
Bookings: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/
jack-druce-kitchen-bird-tickets-34910399946
- Cheryl Threadgold

Land bank
scheme strife

● Stand up comedian Jack Druce.

All My Sons

■ The Australian Securities and Investments
Commission has commenced proceedings in
the Federal Court to wind up a land banking
scheme known as the VKK Investments Unit
Trust, as well as the trustee and operator of the
scheme, Gem Management Group Pty Ltd.
The VKK scheme owns land located at 64
Hutton Rd, Keysborough.
ASIC says that it understands that around 125
investors have invested a total of approximately
$22 million into the VKK scheme. Gem has operated the VKK scheme since May 2010.
ASIC alleges that the VKK scheme constitutes a managed investment scheme which has
not been registered, in contravention of the Corporations Act 2001.
ASIC also alleges that Gem, which does not
hold an Australian Financial Services Licence,
has also breached the Act by operating an unregistered managed investment scheme.
ASIC is seeking to appoint liquidators to both
the VKK scheme and Gem.
Gem and the VKK investors will have the
opportunity to make submissions to the Court in
relation to ASIC's application.
These proceedings are part of ASIC's wider
and ongoing investigation into land banking
schemes.

■ Police are searching for two motorists
following a series of incidents where two
cars drove at officers in Rowville last
weekend.
About 1.20am on Saturday (July 15)
detectives in an unmarked police vehicle
spotted two cars displaying stolen number plates perform illegal U-turns on
Wellington Rd.
Police followed the vehicles, a 1990s
model white Honda Civic hatch and a
1990s model red Honda Civic sedan with
a black bonnet, on to the Monash Fwy.
Due to roadworks, traffic was at a
standstill and police activated their emergency lights, exited their car and approached the two vehicles.
Both drivers ignored police direction
and proceeded to accelerate through traffic, ramming a number of stationary civilian cars in the process.
No one was physically injured during
the incident.
Police are yet to arrest anyone and investigators have released images of vehicles similar to those involved in the incident.
It’s believed there is extensive damage to the passenger side door and panelling of the white vehicle, including green
and blue paint transfers.
Anyone with information is urged to
contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Melbourne Arts
National Gallery
The Pool: Architecture,
Culture and Identity
An 11m long pool will be transported to
the National Gallery of Victoria for The Pool:
Architecture, Culture and Identity, an exhibition that celebrates and explores one on
Australia’s greatest cultural symbols.
A multi-sensory installation of water, light,
scent and sound, The Pool is an interactive
space, complete with wooden decking and
pool lounge chairs, that reveals the connection between landscape, culture and architecture through a singular architectural form.
The exhibition holds its Australian premiere following a successful showing at the
2016 Venice Architecture Biennale where it
received more than 100,000 visitors.
It was presented by the Australian Institute of Architects and curated by Aileen Sage
Architects with Michael Talbot.
The installation also includes a series of
eight ‘lanes’ that present audio excerpts from
eight prominent Australian figures who share
their personal stories to further reveal the relationship between the pool, its architecture
and Australia cultural identity.
Olympic gold medal winning swimmers,
Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould, environmentalist and 2007 Australian of the Year Tim
Flannery, fashion designers Romance Was
Born; writer of best-selling book The Slap
Tajolkas; winner of the 2002 Miles Franklin
Prize Anna Fender, indigenous art curator
Hetti Perkins and Australian rock musician
Paul Kelly.
The Pool Architecture, Culture and Identity will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia form August 18 to February. Free Entry.
- Peter Kemp

NGV commission

■ The NGV Architecture Commission is an
annual open competition, that asks architects
to consider innovative ways to activate one
of Melbourne's great civic spaces, the NGV's
Grollo Equiset Garden, with a thought-provoking work of temporary architecture.
As the 2017 NGVArchitecture Commission coincides with the inaugural NGV Triennial, a free gallery-wide exhibition of contemporary art and design from around the
world, competitors were encouraged to explore the global and inter-disciplinary nature
of architecture as a creative enterprise.
Conducted in two parts, Stage One of the
competition comprised an anonymous proposal round, from which five projects were
shortlisted from an entry pool of 79 entries
from across Australia.
In Stage Two the shortlisted entrants presented a resolved design proposal to the competition jury and were assessed on quality,
originality and viability.
The 2017 NGV Architecture Commission
will be on display at NGV International from
December as part of the NGV Triennial.
- Peter Kemp
● Organisations seeking publicity in
the Melbourne Observer may send
items to editor@MelbourneObserver.
com.au

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 9
Melbourne

Observer

Inconvenient sequel

● Al Gore: An Inconvenient Sequel
■ The 2006 original An Inconvenient Truth urred recently. As Florida becomes wetter, health
won Academy Awards for Best Documentary officials have advised pregnant women
and Best Original Song.
to avoid non-essential travel to the state because
Former US Vice-President Al Gore, who is of the risk of contracting the Zika virus.
the centre-point of both films, won a 2007 Nobel
Gore says emphatically: “It is right to save
Peace Prize.
the future for humanity.”
Bonnie Cohen and John Shenk directed this
While he originally had 50 trainees, now there
sequel which opens on August 10.
are thousands.
Davis Guggenheim, directed AIT and is a
Gore states: “You can feel if you’re onto the
producer of this sequel. We have an Indian prob- right thing.”
lem says Gore at one point in this film when
History is likely to say he was. President
Indian PM Modi says that the US has had 150 Trump, however, in his announced view to reyears to develop using fossil fuels. Gore man- verse the US position at the Paris Climate Conages to get the Indians back in the tent.
ference, won’t be treated as well.
There are compelling scenes. One is a reThe film ends with a call to action, to join the
search hut that used to sit on the surface of a campaign and to vote. We could be about to see
glacier.
a new era in people power.
Now, with the glacier gone, a tall ladder is
There are some images from the beginning
needed to reach it.
of the film that complete a tidy visual arc and
Gore’s presentation contains good graphics. the song Truth To Power (One Republic) proOne, featuring a bell-curve, shows how over vides a fine lyrical finale.
time we have been getting more hot and very
Classification: PG. Movie Runtime: 95 minhot days.
utes. Stars: 4
We learn the Earth’s hottest years have oc- Review by Greg Every

What’s On
Drums, songs

Melbourne

Observer

■ The Dandenong Ranges Music Council presents an Attitude Drumming and Singing Party
on Thursday July 27 at Tecoma Uniting Church
7pm – 9pm.
Singing and drumming sessions for all ages
and all abilities. All welcome, supper provided.
For more information: DRMC 9754 6566

Geelong Gallery

■ Fred Williams in the You Yangs brings together the ground-breaking paintings, drawings
and etchings that represent the turning point in
Fred Williams's art.
Williams started working in the You Yangs
in 1962. It is his work of this period that defined
what is commonly considered his 'classic' interpretation of the Australian landscape.

Melbourne Observations

with Matt Bissett-Johnson

Showbiz News

This exhibition reveals Williams's enduring
fascination with the You Yangs as a recurring
subject (among others) for his painting throughout the 1960s to the late 1970s, and surveys in
marvellous depth the artist's working method.
Exhibition opens August 19 and runs to November 5.
- Peter Kemp

Moongate Gallery
Along the Great Silk Road:
Jan Francis is excited that her painting My
Jazz Triptych was exhibited in a touring exhibition of international artists.
The first phase closed last weekend in Moscow at the Belyaevo National Gallery and the
Moscow Academy of Art, the exhibition continues touring to St Petersburg in October and onto
Beijing, China.
Surf Coast Arts Trail:
Open studios and Galleries on the weekend
ofAugust 12-13 throughout the Surf Coast Shire,
Moongate Studios and Galleries will be open.
Birds and Blooms:
Selected artists will join local sculptor,
Cinamon Stephens, producing new work on this
theme at the Surfcoast Art Space, 103 Great
Ocean Rd. Anglesea. August 18 - 30.
- Peter Kemp

Morn. Peninsula
Regional Gallery

■ Mystery to Me is an exhibition of new works
by Minna Gilligan. Presenting large-scale digital prints on fabric alongside small-scale collage works, Gilligan tackles notions of the female protagonist. With a focus on large painterly gestures which surround and engulf the
women in her psychedelic worlds, Gilligan highlights the mysterious yet powerful nature of femininity within contemporary digital realms. Exhibition uns to September 17.

Just Briefly
Elephant Man

■ Following the success of Picnic at Hanging Rock, director Matthew Lutton and writer
Tom Wright reunite for an adaptation of The
Real and Imagined History of the Elephant
Man, based on the real life story of Joseph
Merrick.
Presented from August 4-27 at the
Malthouse Theatre, the story tells of Joseph
Merrick, better known as the Elephant Man,
having been cast out.
He survived circus ‘freak shows’ and the
revulsion of a gawking public before a young
doctor offered him asylum at the London
Hospital in 1879.
Weaving through a carnival of hospitals,
the circus and the public arena, The Real and
Imagined History of the Elephant Man interrogates our capacity for countering hate with
hope, and the radical power of compassion.
The role of Joseph Merrick will be played
by Daniel Monks, and Paula Arundell, Julie
Forsyth, Emma J Hawkins and Sophie Ross
will form the ensemble of characters that
Merrick encounters throughout his life.
This is Daniel Monks’s Malthouse Theatre debut and he joins the production as an
acclaimed actor, dancer and filmmaker.
Monks recently wrote and starred in Pulse,
the centrepiece of this year’s Melbourne
Queer Film Festival, which was also screened
as a part of Sydney Film Festival’s Screenability program, featuring work by filmmakers with a disability.
Daniel says: “Joseph Merrick has been a
role that I have dreamt of playing for many
years, and I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to be given this opportunity.
“As a young disabled person, Joseph and
his story had a huge impact on me, as I know
he has had on many others, and I feel honoured
to be part of sharing his powerful story with
new audiences.”
Performances: August 4 - 27
Venue: Merlyn Theatre, The Coopers
Malthouse, 113 Sturt St., Southbank
Tickets: $35-$69
Bookings:
9685
5111
or
boxoffice@malthousetheatre.com.au
- Cheryl Threadgold

Raising ‘Ell

■ Short and sweet it was, provocative, vulgarity, humorous, melodious and enjoyable
but all too short.
Raising “Ell! with lyrics and score composed by Ella Filar spared no one and with
the support of the Krows Bar Kabaret team
and all manner of social media.
Using biting commentary Ella Filar likened the performance to the seven deadly
sins but being replaced by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder, Grindr
and Youtube.
With Ella on keyboard, Rudolf
Dombrovski, violin and Martin Zakharov,
sax and clarinet, a pulsating musical backing
was provided for the vocal performers.
By way of introduction to each piece of
political and social commentary a backdrop
of an LCD screen gave us images and word
grabs that were part of Ella Filar’s lyrics.
I could not separate the performances of
the four Kabaret singers, each capturing the
essence of the songs together with smart choreography.
Both Olivia Laskowski and Linda
Cookson put each other down in their quick
fire performance of Hello Su… where
Friends in Need are Inconvenient Friends
Indeed X2 so Don’t take it personally with
clever retorts encompassing all manner of
social media and political back chat.
Certainly not to be outdone Bruce Langdon
and Chris Molyneux struck accord with many
in their rendition of Hello Vlad where Donald
met Vladimir in a down to earth exchange
with My sick Cyber Friend, you’re one Hack
of a Friend, you’ve got to go declaring Donald
with a Vladimir response of “You’re a Donald
Duck of ForeignAffairs” but “Don’t take it
personally”.
In a well scripted performance that could
have lasted another two or three more cryptic
lyrics, all seven deadly social media elements
were well to the fore. Something that we can
all relate to. The seasons at the Butterfly
Club and La Mama have just closed.
- Review by Graeme McCoubrie

Page 10 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

History

125-year anniversary for Yea Freemasons
■ The 125th anniversary of a Masonic Lodge being established in Yea
in 1892 will occur this year.
But the Lodge’s opening night almost did not occur - because of a
last-minute argument with the Yea
Shire Council.
“We learn that a Masonic Lodge,
under the title of ‘The Duke of
Clarence’,will be opened in Yea on
Thursday, October 6, at the Commercial Hotel, when the installation of
officers will take place followed by
the customary banquet,” reported
the Yea newspaper on September 15,
1892.
Within one week, the event had
graduated from the Commercial Hotel (now Country Club Hotel) to the
Yea Shire Hall:
“A large number of invitations
have been issued by the Yea Masons
to members of the craft in Kilmore,
Seymour, Mansfield, and Alexandra,
for the opening of the Duke of
Clarence Lodge, which takes place
at the Yea Shire Hall on Thursday,
October 6.
“The Grand Lodge Officers will
also come from Melbourne to Yea
on that occasion, and a large gathering of the brethren is confidently expected.”
Members of the Lodge approached the Yea Shire to use the
Council Chamber at the Shire Hall
for the inauguration.
“The deputation from the Duke
of Clarence Lodge, consisting of
Messrs. J. B. Mummery, C. Anderson, and W. W. Perry, waited on the
Council, to request the use of the
council-chamber for the inauguration ceremony on Thursday (today),” reported the October 6 issue
of The Yea Chronicle.
“Mr. Mummery said they were
told they could get the hall on paying
for it, and they came to the Council
to request the use of the councilchamber also for the ceremony in
connection with the opening of the
Lodge. The hall would be used afterwards.
“They did not ask for any rebate,
but they might do so afterwards, as
they intended to take the hall for 12
conseeutive meetings.
“Cr. Condon proposed -"That the
request of Messrs. Mummery,
Anderson, and Perry for use of Shire
HaIl and council-chamber for October 6 be granted on the usual terms."
“They had never refused the hall
so long as they knew that those who
took it would not injure it in any way
and he was quite sure these gentlemen would look after it.
“Cr. Webster had much pleasure

● Sir William Clarke, 1st Baronet, Grand Master
of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria
in seconding the motion. He had point of order, contending that it was
known the hall let to all sorts of not an amendment but a negative,
people, who had left it in a worse and did not comply with the condistate than the blacks in a corroboree, tions of an amendment, which should
but he hoped, now that they had be to strike out some words and subpainted it and made it look a little stitute others.
decent, that would be put a stop to.
“Cr. Sandilands: It is an amend“Cr. Sandilands would like to ask ment on "the usual terms." You can't
the Secretary what time it took to re- have every thing your way.
move the books and documents. He
“Cr. Webster: It is not an amendunderstood it took about half a day to ment. You came here to teach us.
shift them to and from. He would pro- We'll teach you, if you're capable of
pose an amendment that it be not being taught.
granted.
“Cr. Underwood (who had been
“Cr. Webster rose to a point of on his feet for some time) said he
order. Cr. Sandilands said he would wished to say a few words.
propose an amendment. Let him do
“Cr. Webster: You won't say
so.
much.
“Cr. Sandilands moved, and Cr.
“Cr. Underwood: I'll speak to the
Underwood seconded-" That in fu- point, anyway, and that's more than
ture the sum of £1 be charged for the you do. I do not think the councilrent of the Shire Hall, and the sum chamber should be let to every "Tom,
of 10s. for the use of the piano, and Dick, and Harry."
10s. extra for the use of the council“Cr. Condon and the President obchamber for one night; and every jected to that remark.
person so renting the hall shall pay a
“Mr. Mummery: Is Sir William
deposit of 10s., the balance of rent to Clarke included in it ?
be paid-before four o'clock p.m. on
“Cr. McCormnick was in favour
the night the hall is engaged."
of allowing the use of the councl“Cr. Webster again rose to a chamber to these gentlemen, and
thought they ought to encourage
things of that kind; but as they had
painted the chamber, they should
take steps to preserve it and keep it
in better order.
“Cr. Ferguson said the whole
thing was a storm in a teacup. They
let it to everybody, and he could not
see why these gentlemen should be
refused. It was the ratepayers' money
that built the hall; it was the ratepayers
who asked for it, and theyshould get
it
“The amendment was declared
out of order, and the motion was then
put and carried, Crs. Sandilands and
Underwood voting against it.
“Mr. Anderson thanked the
Council, assuring them they would
leave the hall and the chamber just
as they found it.”
The opening of the Lodge was
● One of the artefacts in the Masonic Temple, until its
well covered in the local press.
closure, was a photographic collage of Past Masters.
“Thursday last will, in years to

● The Yea Masonic Temple in High St, Yea
come, be a memorable day amongst Queen. Next day I was waited on by
Freemasons in and around Yea. For several brothers at my hotel, the
years past the starting of a Masonic well-known old Clarence, and made
Lodge in Yea has been talked of, and much of by a shower of invitations
at last, owing to the endeavours of to dine out, but in only one case did
Bro. Sanders, Bro. Mummery, and I accept.
a few others, the object has been at“In London there are some swell
tained.
lodges, such as the Prince of Wales,
“On Thursday last at 4 p.m., the where the initiation fee is 150 guinnew lodge, entitled the Duke of eas.
Clarence, was consecrated by Bro.
“The commoners, of course,
Baker, Acting-Grand Master of cannot afford to pay this, and are
Victoria.
consequently excluded.
“Over a quarter of a century ago I
“Even in Masonry, where all are
entered the ranks of Freemasons in supposed to be on the same level,
New Zealand,” wrote ‘Wanderer’. you find ‘mammon’ alters things.
“What changes have taken place
“How many people know what
since then. Where are the boys of Masonry is? Very few. Well, it may
the old brigade! Bro. Lazaar was be summed up in a few words. It is
then the "big man " of the order in the a system of mortality, veiled in allesister colony. Yes, where are they gory, and illustrated by symbols.
“Masonry is based on the purest
gone? Who can answer?
“When recently travelling through atoms of virtue, and there is nothing
England and America, I found that in it incompatible with your religion
the Masonic Order was a powerful or your religious dictums.
“Let as hope that in years to
organisation in those countries, and
that in most cases it was faithfully come I may have the same to say of
the latest created babe, the Duke of
and efficiently carried out.
“In Manchester I was introduced Clarence, in the little but
by Past-Master Bro. Kennedy, who, pleasantlysituated township of Yea.
“But I am getting out of the track,
by the way, also essayed to "prove
me" before entering the sanctum. as usual; you will perhaps say “gush“Before we were in it many min- ing" too much. Well, the consecrautes I proved to my examiner's satis- tion ceremony is very impressive,
faction that he was a little "rusty,'" and tihe Acting-Grand Master Bro.
and the stranger in a strange land in- Baker was assisted by the ActingGrand Secretary Bro. Gosling,
structing him.
“At the banquet that followed I P.M's. Bros. Blashki and Wheeler,
was, with two Canadians, put down and some of the officers of the
to respond for the visitors, and I told Alexandra Lodge (the W.M. of
the brethern that Australia was still which was conspicuous by his abin existence; that.the people were not sence).
“After the consecration, the folaltogether black; that we had some
gold and even silver yet left, and that lowing officers were installed:
WorshipfulMaster, Bro. Mumit was no mean country ; that we were
as loyal as they could afford to be, mery; Senior Warden, Bro. Petch;
Turn to Page 11
and feared God and honoured the

● The Master’s Chair at the Yea Masonic Temple,
with the ‘Volume of the Sacred Law’ pictured at front

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 11

History
● From Page 10
Junior Warden, Bro. Wightman;
Secretary, Bro. Perry; Senior Deacon, Bro. Anderson; Junior Deacon
and Treasurer, Bro. Sanders; Tyler,
Bro. Patterson. P.M.
“Bro. Wheeler efficiently acted
as Chaplain throughout the beautiful and impressive ceremony, and a
number of visitors were present from
Melbourne, Williamstown, Kilmore,
Tallarook, and Alexandra.
“The banquet that followed was
held in Bro. Anderson's Commercial Hotel, and the tastefully laid out
dining hall with emblems of the Craft,
together with the excellent bill of fare
and good attendance, reflected the
greatest credit to Bro. Anderson and
his worthy lady, Mrs. Anderson.
“A little after 9 p.m. the W.M. Bro.
Mummery took the chair, having on
his right Bro. Baker the ActingGrand Master, and on his left P.M.
Bro. Wheeler.
“After the good things had been
done ample justice to, the Worshipful Master proposed " The Queen
and the Craft, the Grand Master
Bro. Sir William Clarke and his Officers," coupled with the name of
Bro. Baker.
“Song, Bro. Blashki, " Boys of
the old brigade."
Bro.. Baker, in responding, said
on behalf of his worthy chief, Bro.
Clarke, and himself he heartly
thanked the brethren. He would inform the Grand Master on his return from England of the new addition to the ranks.
“Like a good father of a family,
he liked to hear of an increase in the
number; as an old officer he was
pleased to be amongst them, and
considered it a privilege to be entrusted with the carrying out of the
consecration ceremony.
“As they had the Acting-Grand
Secretary present, he would call
upon him to give them some information about the success of the Craft
in Victoria.
“Acting-Grand Secretary, Bro.
Gosing, said that a few years ago,
when the charter was established,
136 stations or lodges were in existence, now there were 172, and they
were all flourishing.
“Bro. Baker was an ardent Mason, and he felt sure that he must
often neglect hie own business for
the advancement and welfare of the
Craft. He thanked the Acting Grand
Master for the kind reference to him,
aml the brethren present forthe kind
attention.
“He hoped the Duke of Clarence

‘With the core values of integrity, kindness,
fairness and honesty at the centre of all
Freemasons’ lives, members are urged to
regard the interests of the family as
paramount, and also teaches concern for
people, care for the less fortunate
and help for those in need.’
- Freemasonry Victoria

● Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence

Named after Duke of Clarence

■ Yea’s Masonic Lodge, formed in 1892, was named in honour of the
Duke of Clarence, who had died earlier in that year at age 28.
Albert Victor Christian Edward, from the House of Saxe-Coburg and
Gotha, was the eldest child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later
King Edward VII), and grandson of the reigning British monarch, Queen
Victoria.
From the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to
the British throne, but never became king: he died before his father and
his grandmother, the Queen.
Albert Victor was known to his family, and many later biographers, as
‘Eddy’. When young, he travelled the world extensively as a naval cadet,
and as an adult he joined the British Army, but did not undertake any
active military duties.
After two unsuccessful courtships, he was engaged to be married to
Princess Mary of Teck in late 1891. A few weeks later, he died during an
influenza pandemic. Mary later married his younger brother Prince George,
who became King George V in 1910.
The Duke of Clarence’s death shocked the British Empire. Shops put
up their shutters. The Prince of Wales wrote to Queen Victoria, "Gladly
would I have given my life for his".
Princess Mary wrote to Queen Victoria of the Princess of Wales, "the
despairing look on her face was the most heart-rending thing I have ever
seen." His younger brother Prince George wrote, "how deeply I did love
him; and I remember with pain nearly every hard word and little quarrel I
ever had with him and I long to ask his forgiveness, but, alas, it is too late
now!”
Source: Wikipedia

● The interior of the Yea Masonic Temple, first opened in May 1915

Lodge would prosper. P.M. Bro.
Wheeler proposed "The newly installed W..M., Bro. Mummery," in
flattering terms.
Song, Bro. Petch " True to the last."
Worshiptul Master Bro. Mummery responded. He was once a
member of a lodge in Penrith,
N.S.W., which was just the same as
the Dake of Clarence, and not long
ago he was visiting Sydney and took
it into his head to visit the place and
strange to say the Lodge held its
meeting during his visit, and he was
delighted to find it grown into a large
and important body.
“He had no doubt but that their
Lodge would do the same.
“He had known Bro. Baker for
some 15 years. He liked his kind genial face; he liked his character, and
he liked to hear of the good opinion
others in and out of the Craft bore
testimony to of him.
“Strange to say that he (Bro.
Mummery) was presented by Bro.
Blashki with the working tools of a
Mason on the present occasion and
that he (Bro. Mummery) carried out
the same duties when Bro. Blashki
was first installed in the chair.
“He thanked the brethren for the
high honour that they had conferred
on him, and promised to work zealously and faithfully for the cause.
Song.Bro. McKay, "Jack's come
home to-day.”
Bro. Baker feelingly responded,
complimenting the Freemasons in the
district on their pluck in organising
the starting of the new Lodge.
Bro. Baker proposed "The Past
Masters and Masters of sister
Lodges."
Recitation, Bro. Wheeler, "Advance Australia”.
Bros. Blashki, MeKay, and
Wheeler, of Mansfield, responded.
Song, Bro. Wheeler, " Sally in our
Alley."
Bro. R.G. Neale responded for the
visitors.
Song, Senior Warden of the
Kilmore Lodge, "I live like a lord."
Bro. Baker proposed ' The Officers of the Duke of Clarence Lodge."
Song, Bro. Leckie, "Far Away”.
The Worshipful Master gave "The
Press, and "Wanderer" respsonded
Song, Bro. Anderson. "Poor and
Distressed Masons" followed, after
which the "Host and Hostess,"' who
received great praise for tihe sumptuous spread; Bro. Anderson
respondeds tating that if Masonry did
nothing else, it had that day brought
the most respectable looking body of
men to Yea that he hal ever witnessed.
"God Save the Queen" brought a
most enjoyable gathering of the Craft
to a close about midnight.”
The November 10, 1892, issue of
the Yea newspaper reported: “The
new Masonic Lodge, the Duke of
Clarence, held its first meeting since
the consecration at the Yea Shire
Hall on Thursday last, when two
gentlemen were initiated into the
mysteries of ancient Fremasonry .
“The lodge is now in full working
order, and any gentleman desirous
of entering the craft can get full particulars from either of the following
brethren: Messrs. Mummery, Sanders, Petch, Perry, Anderson,
Williamson, and Wightman.

“The lodge is held on the Thursday on or before full moon, so that
brethren from a distance will have
the benefit of what has not been inaptly termed the ‘parish lantern’ to
light them to their respective dwellings.”
By January 1893, the Lodge was
attempting to have its £1 monthly
rental of the Yea Shire Hall reduced.
The Chronicle reported: “From
Wm. W. Perry, secretary to the Duke
of Clarence Lodge, asking for the
use of the council-chamber at a reduction in present price, £1 per meeting being rather more than the funds
of the Lodge would allow; and the
establishing of the Order in Yea was
certain to have a powerful influence
for good, they trusted the Council
would see its way to reduce the
present charge.-Reduction made to
10s. per night, on the motion of Crs
Sandilands and Scale.”
Cr Sandilands had originally
been one of the opponents to the
Lodge’s use of the Council chamber.
“The annual installation and investiture of officers of the Duke of
Clarence Lodge, No. 172, Yea, takes
place at the Shire hall this evening,
when Bro. J. B. Mummery; the
Worshipful Master Elect, will be installed for the second time,” noted
the October 26, 1893, issue.
“Bro. J. A. Gordon, P.M., assisted
by Bro. R. Irvine, W.M., of the Albert
Edward Lodge, Alexandra, will perform the duties of Installing Master.
“A large number of invitations
have been sent by the W.M. to the
various lodges in the surrounding
districts and Melbourne.”
In 1915, the June 3 issue of the
Chronicle reported: “The ceremony
of laying the foundation stone of the
new Masonic hall in High -street was
performed on Saturday afternoon in
the presence of a number of the
Masonic fraternity the building is of
solid brick, in places the wall being
14 inches thick, and is situated on a
block of ground at the corner of High
street and Craigie street, immediately opposite the old lodge room.
“The size of the building is 25 x
50. and it comprises a lodge room of
25 x 35 and an ante room of 25 x 14.
“The proceedings opened with a
hymn, after which Bro J. Tosh, the
W.M,, de livered an address on freemasonry.
“This was followed by the chaplain (Bro. Rev, R. A. Scott) offering
up a prayer, after which the secretary (Bro. S. Wall) read the inscription on the stone.
“The junior warden (Bro, W.
Taite) then plumbed the stone and
the senior warden (Bro.J. Gracey)
inspected the stone to see that the
stone was laid true, Bro. G,. Buckley
then placed oil, wine, and grain on
the stone, after which P.M. Bro. J.
Taite presented Bro. J. C. Sanders,
one of the founders and treasurer of
the lodge, with a silver trowel, with
which the latter tapped the stone and
declared it well and truly laid.
“Another Masonic hymn was
sung and the proceedings closed with
the singing of the National Anthem.”
The final meeting of the Lodge
was held in Yea in October 2015.
- Ash Long

Page 12 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

■ Russell Irving Tamblyn was born in Los
Angeles, California, in 1934. Both his parents
were actors. His older brother Larry also went
into show business and became the lead singer
and keyboard player with the 1960's group The
Standells.
Russ studied acrobatics and dancing from
the age of six. Russ was discovered by the actor
Lloyd Bridges who got him a role in a play titled
Stone Jungle when Russ was only 10.
This led to working as an extra in the film
The Boy with Green Hair in 1948. But the work
kept coming in and he played ‘Saul’ opposite
Victor Mature in Samson and Delilah.
During the early 1950s Russ was playing teenager roles in films such as Father of the Bride,
Fathers Little Dividend, As Young as You Feel
and Retreat Hell.
He was signed to a long term contract with
MGM and landed the role of ‘Gideon’ in the
musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
This role was just perfect for Russ with his
agility, acrobatic and dancing skills - he was a
standout in the film.
Sadly, the era of the big Hollywood musicals
was coming to an end but Russ starred in Hit
The Deck and in the title role in Tom Thumb
which was filmed at the MGM Studios in the
UK.
In 1957, he worked on the choreography for
the Elvis Presley film Jailhouse Rock. He was
nominated for an academy award as Best Sup-

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Whatever
Happened
To ...
Russ
Tamblyn

By Kevin Trask
of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM

porting Actor in the film Peyton Place. Russ originally auditioned for the part of ‘Tony’ in the film
version of the Broadway musical West Side Story,
but was cast as ‘Riff’ instead, while the part of
‘Tony’ went to Richard Beymer.
Russ has been married three times and has
three children. He has been married to his current wife Bonnie for 36 years.
Russ started his television credits with dancing on the Ed Sullivan Show and over the years
has been a guest star in many television series
such as Cade's County, Burke's Law, Gunsmoke,
Days of Our Lives, Tarzan and Fame.
In 1990 Russ began work on the television
series Twin Peaks playing ‘Dr Jacoby’. Twin
Peaks has now been revived after a break of

● Russ Tamblyn

25 years and Russ is back in it. The new series
is currently playing on Stan.
In recent years Russ has mentored and managed his beautiful daughter's career.
Amber Tamblyn has starred in television
shows such as House, Two and a Half Men and
The Unusuals.
They both had roles in the Quentin Tarantino
film, Django Unchained.
Russ was devastated over the passing of his
dear friend Debbie Reynolds last year.
They made the film Hit the Deck together
and Debbie was just like a sister to him.
His big regret was that he never got the
chance to say goodbye.
Russ has been working on his autobiography
Dancing on The Edge for about 20 years and it
will be a great read when it is finally published
Russ is 83 these days and still working in the
business - which is just amazing.
I am a longtime fan of Russ Tamblyn.
Kevin Trask
The Time Tunnel - on Remember
When - Sundays at 9.10pm on 3AW
That's Entertainment - 96.5FM
Sundays at 12 Noon
96.5FM is streaming on the internet.
www.innerfm.org.au

Alice Springs, colder than Thredbo

■ From a weather perspective Alice
Springs always boasts of its heat.
There are times I have experienced a daily temperature in the 40s
for a couple of weeks on end.
The hottest I have known was
56°outside the back door of my shop
one February day.
The record I've heard of was 61°at
Coober Pedy a few years back. The
sun just beats down on the sparkling
white mullock heaps, and radiates out.
However on Sunday June 11, Alice
was colder than Thredbo - in fact it
was the fifth coldest place in the country.
The temperature at the Airport was
-2.9. On my five acres just out of town
I measured it at -8 one bright frosty
morning.
In fact in this era of global warming the average minimum temperature last June was 8.5°, whereas this
year it's now down to -1.
So much for the perpetually
blisteringly hot Red Centre.
There is an opal field called
Mintabie a few hundred kilometres
north of Coober Pedy which gets quite
warm too.
I had a mate who was living in a
caravan there a few years ago. He
told me of his experience one summer - his thermometer only went to
57, and for about a week it reached
this every day.
"It may have been hotter", he said,
"But that was it for my thermometer".
The floor of his van was so hot that
he needed to wear thongs inside.
■ Every so often an incident of brutality is drawn to one's attention. I suppose our police down here must experience some fairly harrowing incidents, but they're generally kept fairly
quiet.
But in the NT most crimes experience of the light of day fairly regularly.
One Robert Morton was at his
home in Alpurrurulam, north-east of
Alice Springs, and about to head off
to the Mount Isa Rodeo with his wife
of 18 years.
They had been drinking during the
day, but as Justice Trevor Reilly indicated, there was no explanation for
the violence which occurred later in
the evening.
His wife had suffered at least 28
"impacts" to her body, inflicted by an
axe and a knife. A broken arm, stab
wounds, a chipped forehead and three

The
Outback
Legend

hectare "bushland haven" where our
native creatures can thrive away from
the cats' evil jaws.
The 180-km electric fence will be
finished in 2021, and many endangered species will be reintroduced into
the area.
I assume that this will be a great
success, and may well begin further
such developments elsewhere in Australia, and protect even more of our
critically endangered creatures.
However, critically important
though this conservation is, it certainly
comes at a price.

■ The first time i met Rex Niendorf
was at a road stop, Glendambo, a
couple of hundred kilometres south of
Coober Pedy, where he was running
a reptile display.
With similar interests, we struck up
a friendship, and even planned to unite
in a venture - selling my opals and
displaying his snakes.
This was first of all contemplated
with Nick Le Souef
in Alice Springs, and then possibly
Darwin. But, as with the best laid
Lightning Ridge Opals
plans…
63 Elizabeth Street,
So I kept my shop in Alice Springs,
Melbourne
and Rex shortly thereafter moved up
Phone 9654 4444
to Alice Springs, opening his Reptile
www.opals.net.au
Centre, which quickly began to thrive
and prosper, with several shows a day,
fractured ribs. The magistrate, in his and a large crocodile.
instruction to the jury, said that because
And Rex is of course is the Alice
of the level of intoxication of the hus- Springs snake catcher.
band there may have been some doubt
Last year has been his busiest ever
as to whether he intended to actually - he's had about 600 rescue calls bekill his wife, and they may choose to tween January and March this year,
find him guilty of manslaughter.
and there were 110 calls in April, up
They didn't, and he was sentenced from the normal 30 or so.
to life imprisonment, with a non-paAnd 47 in May when it begins to
role of 20 years.
cool a bit, so you'd expect them to be
slithering into hibernation.
Most of snakes in town are west■ Cats again! I often rail against the
millions of our native species which ern and eastern browns, and yellow
are decimated each night in Central face whip snakes.
The browns are particularly danAustralia, dispatched by these evil
gerous, with the eastern brown the secferal cats.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy ond most venomous in the world.
CEO Atticus Fleming noted that 30
native mammal species have become ■ Ambos are always kept busy in
extinct since Federation. This is the Alice Springs. Not only are the vast
distances a problem for them when
worst example in the world.
Of course cats are to blame for there are car accidents on remote
roads, but communication in the
much of this, he said.
So a group of conservationists are Outback has always been a difficulty.
Mobiles only work in town, so when
working on the world's largest feral
cat eradication plan - a $10m cat-proof there is a serious mishap out in the
fence is being constructed in the Cen- bush somewhere, it's often a while
tre to try and reverse this extinction before significant help arrives.
And because of the 130-kmh speed
crisis.
This fence will surround a 70,000 limit, combined with international driv-

ers accustomed to driving on the right,
there can be an occasional series accident.
And furthermore, many of the
youths of Alice Springs just love throwing rocks at ambulances.
The recent Finke Desert Race kept
them busy.
Rushing on through the sandy creek
beds on motorbikes or buggies seems
to be just a recipe for disaster.
Indeed 59 people were treated dur-

ing the duration of the race, 52 being
actual competitors. Injuries, according to Andrew Everingham, St John's
Ambulance Southern Region Area
Manager, were "consistent with someone crashing at high speed during a
motor event”.
Fractured femurs, pelvic injuries,
broken arms, dislocations and chest
injuries.
That kept them all busy.
- Nick Le Souef

OK. With John O’Keefe
300 not out

■ The breakfast team on Gold 104 - Jo Stanley and Lehmo - celebrated
a milestone with their 300th program since joining the station last year.
Over the 16 months of their partnership stunts have included the heavily
publisised nude breakfast , and other events that have been both original and
newsworthy. Lehmo, aka Anthony Lehmann is to make a return performance in the ABC-TV series Utopia - starring alongside Rob Sitch.

Sydney gossip

■ We try and avoid stories abour the Harbour city but this tale is too much
to pass up. Rove McManus and his on-air partner Sam Frost were bumped
from their Hit Network brekky gig because of rotten ratings. Moved to
Drive, they bombed again and the pair taken off air. Reported salaries were;
Rove $ 3.7 million per annum, and Sam $ 250,000 pa. Sam got the heave ho
while Rove has been moved to 'special projects' on same salary which puts
Rove and Kyle Sanndilands running neck for neck in the pay stakes.

Murder movie

■ The gruesome double killing that occured at the Old London Coiffure,
Portland, is to be made into a feature film.
Writer and actor Aphra Williams, granddaughrer of the accused Robert
Penny, is making the film about the infamous double murder in1991. Robert
Penny died last year . Coroner Jacqui Hawkins found there was not enough
evidence to identify the killer in the case.

Funny man

■ Tennis champ Sir Andy Murray is not known for his sense of humour
but he was wearing a rather comical T-shirt during warm -ups at this years
Wimbeldon. Tee is emblazoned ' Bangers and Smash' making it obvious
which country he represents , and in which sport.

Star robbed

■ Actor Les Hill put his trust and a hard earned $ 35,000 in the greedy
paws of a Sydney accountant. Accountant allegedly gambled investment
away. so Les , and others left lamenting . Case currently processing through
the Courts. Les's telly credits include Underbelly, Home and Away and
Rescue.

Caught and bowled

■ Cricket Australia has lodged a claim against Channel 10 for $ 21 million allegedly owing to Cricket Australia up to end of year. Busy time at
Cricket Australia headquarters with chasing outstanding debts, and avoiding player strikes.

Melbourne Obser ver - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 13

Observer Classic Books

r

e
rv
se US N
Ob N IO
BO CT
SE

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a
lowering of him. My conscience got to stirring
me up hotter than ever, until at last I says to it,
“Let up on me — it ain’t too late yet — I’ll
paddle ashore at the first light and tell.” I felt
easy and happy and light as a feather right off.
All my troubles was gone. I went to looking out
sharp for a light, and sort of singing to myself.
By and by one showed. Jim sings out:
“We’s safe, Huck, we’s safe! Jump up and crack
yo’ heels! Dat’s de good ole Cairo at las’, I jis
knows it!”
I says:
“I’ll take the canoe and go and see, Jim. It
mightn’t be, you know.”
He jumped and got the canoe ready, and put his
old coat in the bottom for me to set on, and give
me the paddle; and as I shoved off, he says:
“Pooty soon I’ll be a-shout’n’ for joy, en I’ll say,
it’s all on accounts o’ Huck; I’s a free man, en I
couldn’t ever ben free ef it hadn’ ben for Huck;
Huck done it. Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck;
you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de
ONLY fren’ole Jim’s got now.”
I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him;
but when he says this, it seemed to kind of take
the tuck all out of me. I went along slow then,
and I warn’t right down certain whether I was
glad I started or whether I warn’t. When I was
fifty yards off, Jim says:
“Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white
genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim.”
Well, I just felt sick. But I says, I GOT to do it —
I can’t get OUT of it. Right then along comes a
skiff with two men in it with guns, and they
stopped and I stopped. One of them says:
“What’s that yonder?”
“A piece of a raft,” I says.
“Do you belong on it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any men on it?”
“Only one, sir.”
“Well, there’s five niggers run off to-night up
yonder, above the head of the bend. Is your man
white or black?”
I didn’t answer up prompt. I tried to, but the
words wouldn’t come. I tried for a second or
two to brace up and out with it, but I warn’t man
enough — hadn’t the spunk of a rabbit. I see I
was weakening; so I just give up trying, and up
and says:
“He’s white.”
“I reckon we’ll go and see for ourselves.”
“I wish you would,” says I, “because it’s pap
that’s there, and maybe you’d help me tow the
raft ashore where the light is. He’s sick — and
so is mam and Mary Ann.”
“Oh, the devil! we’re in a hurry, boy. But I s’pose
we’ve got to. Come, buckle to your paddle, and
let’s get along.”
I buckled to my paddle and they laid to their
oars. When we had made a stroke or two, I
says:
“Pap’ll be mighty much obleeged to you, I can
tell you. Everybody goes away when I want them
to help me tow the raft ashore, and I can’t do it
by myself.”
“Well, that’s infernal mean. Odd, too. Say, boy,
what’s the matter with your father?”
“It’s the — a — the — well, it ain’t anything
much.”
They stopped pulling. It warn’t but a mighty little
ways to the raft now. One says:
“Boy, that’s a lie. What IS the matter with your
pap? Answer up square now, and it’ll be the
better for you.”
“I will, sir, I will, honest — but don’t leave us,
please. It’s the — the — Gentlemen, if you’ll
only pull ahead, and let me heave you the headline, you won’t have to come a-near the raft —
please do.”
“Set her back, John, set her back!” says one.
They backed water. “Keep away, boy — keep
to looard. Confound it, I just expect the wind has
blowed it to us. Your pap’s got the small-pox,
and you know it precious well. Why didn’t you
come out and say so? Do you want to spread it
all over?”
“Well,” says I, a-blubbering, “I’ve told everybody before, and they just went away and left
us.”
“Poor devil, there’s something in that. We are
right down sorry for you, but we — well, hang it,

Mark Twain
we don’t want the small-pox, you see. Look
here, I’ll tell you what to do. Don’t you try to
land by yourself, or you’ll smash everything to
pieces. You float along down about twenty
miles, and you’ll come to a town on the lefthand side of the river. It will be long after sunup then, and when you ask for help you tell
them your folks are all down with chills and
fever. Don’t be a fool again, and let people guess
what is the matter. Now we’re trying to do you a
kindness; so you just put twenty miles between
us, that’s a good boy. It wouldn’t do any good to
land yonder where the light is — it’s only a woodyard. Say, I reckon your father’s poor, and I’m
bound to say he’s in pretty hard luck. Here, I’ll
put a twenty-dollar gold piece on this board,
and you get it when it floats by. I feel mighty
mean to leave you; but my kingdom! it won’t do
to fool with small-pox, don’t you see?”
“Hold on, Parker,” says the other man, “here’s
a twenty to put on the board for me. Good-bye,
boy; you do as Mr. Parker told you, and you’ll
be all right.”
“That’s so, my boy — good-bye, good-bye. If
you see any runaway niggers you get help and
nab them, and you can make some money by
it.”
“Good-bye, sir,” says I; “I won’t let no runaway niggers get by me if I can help it.”
They went off and I got aboard the raft, feeling
bad and low, because I knowed very well I had
done wrong, and I see it warn’t no use for me to
try to learn to do right; a body that don’t get
STARTED right when he’s little ain’t got no
show — when the pinch comes there ain’t nothing to back him up and keep him to his work,
and so he gets beat. Then I thought a minute,
and says to myself, hold on; s’pose you’d a done
right and give Jim up, would you felt better than

what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad — I’d
feel just the same way I do now. Well, then,
says I, what’s the use you learning to do right
when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no
trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the
same? I was stuck. I couldn’t answer that. So I
reckoned I wouldn’t bother no more about it, but
after this always do whichever come handiest
at the time.
I went into the wigwam; Jim warn’t there. I
looked all around; he warn’t anywhere. I says:
“Jim!”
“Here I is, Huck. Is dey out o’ sight yit? Don’t
talk loud.”
He was in the river under the stern oar, with just
his nose out. I told him they were out of sight, so
he come aboard. He says:
“I was a-listenin’ to all de talk, en I slips into de
river en was gwyne to shove for sho’ if dey come
aboard. Den I was gwyne to swim to de raf’
agin when dey was gone. But lawsy, how you
did fool ’em, Huck! Dat WUZ de smartes’
dodge! I tell you, chile, I’spec it save’ ole Jim —
ole Jim ain’t going to forgit you for dat, honey.”
Then we talked about the money. It was a pretty
good raise — twenty dollars apiece. Jim said
we could take deck passage on a steamboat
now, and the money would last us as far as we
wanted to go in the free States. He said twenty
mile more warn’t far for the raft to go, but he
wished we was already there.
Towards daybreak we tied up, and Jim was
mighty particular about hiding the raft good. Then
he worked all day fixing things in bundles, and
getting all ready to quit rafting.
That night about ten we hove in sight of the lights
of a town away down in a left-hand bend.
I went off in the canoe to ask about it. Pretty
soon I found a man out in the river with a skiff,

setting a trot-line. I ranged up and says:
“Mister, is that town Cairo?”
“Cairo? no. You must be a blame’ fool.”
“What town is it, mister?”
“If you want to know, go and find out. If you stay
here botherin’ around me for about a half a
minute longer you’ll get something you won’t
want.”
I paddled to the raft. Jim was awful disappointed,
but I said never mind, Cairo would be the next
place, I reckoned.
We passed another town before daylight, and I
was going out again; but it was high ground, so I
didn’t go. No high ground about Cairo, Jim said.
I had forgot it. We laid up for the day on a towhead tolerable close to the left-hand bank. I begun to suspicion something. So did Jim. I says:
“Maybe we went by Cairo in the fog that night.”
He says:
“Doan’ le’s talk about it, Huck. Po’ niggers can’t
have no luck. I awluz ’spected dat rattlesnakeskin warn’t done wid its work.”
“I wish I’d never seen that snake-skin, Jim — I
do wish I’d never laid eyes on it.”
“It ain’t yo’ fault, Huck; you didn’ know. Don’t
you blame yo’self ’bout it.”
When it was daylight, here was the clear Ohio
water inshore, sure enough, and outside was the
old regular Muddy! So it was all up with Cairo.
We talked it all over. It wouldn’t do to take to the
shore; we couldn’t take the raft up the stream,
of course. There warn’t no way but to wait for
dark, and start back in the canoe and take the
chances. So we slept all day amongst the cottonwood thicket, so as to be fresh for the work,
and when we went back to the raft about dark
the canoe was gone!
We didn’t say a word for a good while. There
warn’t anything to say. We both knowed well
enough it was some more work of the rattlesnake-skin; so what was the use to talk about it?
It would only look like we was finding fault, and
that would be bound to fetch more bad luck —
and keep on fetching it, too, till we knowed
enough to keep still.
By and by we talked about what we better do,
and found there warn’t no way but just to go
along down with the raft till we got a chance to
buy a canoe to go back in. We warn’t going to
borrow it when there warn’t anybody around,
the way pap would do, for that might set people
after us.
So we shoved out after dark on the raft.
Anybody that don’t believe yet that it’s foolishness to handle a snake-skin, after all that that
snake-skin done for us, will believe it now if
they read on and see what more it done for us.
The place to buy canoes is off of rafts laying up
at shore. But we didn’t see no rafts laying up; so
we went along during three hours and more.
Well, the night got gray and ruther thick, which
is the next meanest thing to fog. You can’t tell
the shape of the river, and you can’t see no distance. It got to be very late and still, and then
along comes a steamboat up the river. We lit the
lantern, and judged she would see it. Up-stream
boats didn’t generly come close to us; they go
out and follow the bars and hunt for easy water
under the reefs; but nights like this they bull right
up the channel against the whole river.
We could hear her pounding along, but we didn’t
see her good till she was close. She aimed right
for us. Often they do that and try to see how
close they can come without touching; sometimes the wheel bites off a sweep, and then the
pilot sticks his head out and laughs, and thinks
he’s mighty smart. Well, here she comes, and
we said she was going to try and shave us; but
she didn’t seem to be sheering off a bit. She was
a big one, and she was coming in a hurry, too,
looking like a black cloud with rows of glowworms around it; but all of a sudden she bulged
out, big and scary, with a long row of wide-open
furnace doors shining like red-hot teeth, and her
monstrous bows and guards hanging right over
us. There was a yell at us, and a jingling of bells
to stop the engines, a powwow of cussing, and
whistling of steam — and as Jim went overboard on one side and I on the other, she come
smashing straight through the raft.
I dived — and I aimed to find the bottom, too,
for a thirty-foot wheel had got to go over me,

Continued on Page 14

Page 14 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Observer Classic Books
From Page 13
and I wanted it to have plenty of room. I could
always stay under water a minute; this time I
reckon I stayed under a minute and a half. Then
I bounced for the top in a hurry, for I was nearly
busting. I popped out to my armpits and blowed
the water out of my nose, and puffed a bit. Of
course there was a booming current; and of
course that boat started her engines again ten
seconds after she stopped them, for they never
cared much for raftsmen; so now she was churning along up the river, out of sight in the thick
weather, though I could hear her.
I sung out for Jim about a dozen times, but I
didn’t get any answer; so I grabbed a plank that
touched me while I was “treading water,” and
struck out for shore, shoving it ahead of me. But
I made out to see that the drift of the current was
towards the left-hand shore, which meant that I
was in a crossing; so I changed off and went
that way.
It was one of these long, slanting, two-mile crossings; so I was a good long time in getting over. I
made a safe landing, and clumb up the bank. I
couldn’t see but a little ways, but I went poking
along over rough ground for a quarter of a mile
or more, and then I run across a big old-fashioned double log-house before I noticed it. I was
going to rush by and get away, but a lot of dogs
jumped out and went to howling and barking at
me, and I knowed better than to move another
peg.
Chapter XVII.
IN about a minute somebody spoke out of a
window without putting his head out, and says:
“Be done, boys! Who’s there?”
I says:
“It’s me.”
“Who’s me?”
“George Jackson, sir.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t want nothing, sir. I only want to go along
by, but the dogs won’t let me.”
“What are you prowling around here this time
of night for — hey?”
“I warn’t prowling around, sir, I fell overboard
off of the steamboat.”
“Oh, you did, did you? Strike a light there, somebody. What did you say your name was?”
“George Jackson, sir. I’m only a boy.”
“Look here, if you’re telling the truth you needn’t
be afraid — nobody’ll hurt you. But don’t try to
budge; stand right where you are. Rouse out Bob
and Tom, some of you, and fetch the guns.
George Jackson, is there anybody with you?”
“No, sir, nobody.”
I heard the people stirring around in the house
now, and see a light. The man sung out:
“Snatch that light away, Betsy, you old fool —
ain’t you got any sense? Put it on the floor behind the front door. Bob, if you and Tom are
ready, take your places.”
“All ready.”
“Now, George Jackson, do you know the
Shepherdsons?”
“No, sir; I never heard of them.”
“Well, that may be so, and it mayn’t. Now, all
ready. Step forward, George Jackson. And mind,
don’t you hurry — come mighty slow. If there’s
anybody with you, let him keep back — if he
shows himself he’ll be shot. Come along now.
Come slow; push the door open yourself — just
enough to squeeze in, d’ you hear?”
I didn’t hurry; I couldn’t if I’d a wanted to. I took
one slow step at a time and there warn’t a sound,
only I thought I could hear my heart. The dogs
were as still as the humans, but they followed a
little behind me. When I got to the three log
doorsteps I heard them unlocking and unbarring
and unbolting. I put my hand on the door and
pushed it a little and a little more till somebody
said, “There, that’s enough — put your head
in.” I done it, but I judged they would take it off.
The candle was on the floor, and there they all
was, looking at me, and me at them, for about a
quarter of a minute: Three big men with guns
pointed at me, which made me wince, I tell you;
the oldest, gray and about sixty, the other two
thirty or more — all of them fine and handsome
— and the sweetest old gray-headed lady, and
back of her two young women which I couldn’t
see right well. The old gentleman says:
“There; I reckon it’s all right. Come in.”
As soon as I was in the old gentleman he locked
the door and barred it and bolted it, and told the
young men to come in with their guns, and they
all went in a big parlor that had a new rag carpet
on the floor, and got together in a corner that
was out of the range of the front windows —
there warn’t none on the side. They held the

candle, and took a good look at me, and all said,
“Why, HE ain’t a Shepherdson — no, there ain’t
any Shepherdson about him.” Then the old man
said he hoped I wouldn’t mind being searched
for arms, because he didn’t mean no harm by it
— it was only to make sure. So he didn’t pry into
my pockets, but only felt outside with his hands,
and said it was all right. He told me to make
myself easy and at home, and tell all about myself; but the old lady says:
“Why, bless you, Saul, the poor thing’s as wet
as he can be; and don’t you reckon it may be
he’s hungry?”
“True for you, Rachel — I forgot.”
So the old lady says:
“Betsy” (this was a nigger woman), “you fly
around and get him something to eat as quick as
you can, poor thing; and one of you girls go and
wake up Buck and tell him — oh, here he is
himself. Buck, take this little stranger and get
the wet clothes off from him and dress him up in
some of yours that’s dry.”
Buck looked about as old as me — thirteen or
fourteen or along there, though he was a little
bigger than me. He hadn’t on anything but a
shirt, and he was very frowzy-headed. He came
in gaping and digging one fist into his eyes, and
he was dragging a gun along with the other one.
He says:
“Ain’t they no Shepherdsons around?”
They said, no, ’twas a false alarm.
“Well,” he says, “if they’d a ben some, I reckon
I’d a got one.”
They all laughed, and Bob says:
“Why, Buck, they might have scalped us all,
you’ve been so slow in coming.”
“Well, nobody come after me, and it ain’t right
I’m always kept down; I don’t get no show.”
“Never mind, Buck, my boy,” says the old man,
“you’ll have show enough, all in good time, don’t
you fret about that. Go ’long with you now, and
do as your mother told you.”
When we got up-stairs to his room he got me a
coarse shirt and a roundabout and pants of his,
and I put them on. While I was at it he asked me
what my name was, but before I could tell him
he started to tell me about a bluejay and a young
rabbit he had catched in the woods day before
yesterday, and he asked me where Moses was
when the candle went out. I said I didn’t know; I
hadn’t heard about it before, no way.
“Well, guess,” he says.
“How’m I going to guess,” says I, “when I never
heard tell of it before?”
“But you can guess, can’t you? It’s just as easy.”
“WHICH candle?” I says.
“Why, any candle,” he says.
“I don’t know where he was,” says I; “where
was he?”
“Why, he was in the DARK! That’s where he
was!”
“Well, if you knowed where he was, what did
you ask me for?”
“Why, blame it, it’s a riddle, don’t you see? Say,
how long are you going to stay here? You got to
stay always. We can just have booming times
— they don’t have no school now. Do you own a
dog? I’ve got a dog — and he’ll go in the river
and bring out chips that you throw in. Do you
like to comb up Sundays, and all that kind of
foolishness? You bet I don’t, but ma she makes
me. Confound these ole britches! I reckon I’d
better put ’em on, but I’d ruther not, it’s so warm.
Are you all ready? All right. Come along, old
hoss.”
Cold corn-pone, cold corn-beef, butter and buttermilk — that is what they had for me down
there, and there ain’t nothing better that ever
I’ve come across yet. Buck and his ma and all
of them smoked cob pipes, except the nigger
woman, which was gone, and the two young
women. They all smoked and talked, and I eat
and talked. The young women had quilts around
them, and their hair down their backs. They all
asked me questions, and I told them how pap
and me and all the family was living on a little
farm down at the bottom of Arkansaw, and my
sister Mary Ann run off and got married and
never was heard of no more, and Bill went to
hunt them and he warn’t heard of no more, and
Tom and Mort died, and then there warn’t nobody but just me and pap left, and he was just
trimmed down to nothing, on account of his
troubles; so when he died I took what there was
left, because the farm didn’t belong to us, and
started up the river, deck passage, and fell overboard; and that was how I come to be here. So
they said I could have a home there as long as I
wanted it. Then it was most daylight and everybody went to bed, and I went to bed with Buck,

and when I waked up in the morning, drat it all,
I had forgot what my name was. So I laid there
about an hour trying to think, and when Buck
waked up I says:
“Can you spell, Buck?”
“Yes,” he says.
“I bet you can’t spell my name,” says I.
“I bet you what you dare I can,” says he.
“All right,” says I, “go ahead.”
“G-e-o-r-g-e J-a-x-o-n — there now,” he says.
“Well,” says I, “you done it, but I didn’t think
you could. It ain’t no slouch of a name to spell
— right off without studying.”
I set it down, private, because somebody might
want ME to spell it next, and so I wanted to be
handy with it and rattle it off like I was used to it.
It was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice
house, too. I hadn’t seen no house out in the
country before that was so nice and had so much
style. It didn’t have an iron latch on the front
door, nor a wooden one with a buckskin string,
but a brass knob to turn, the same as houses in
town. There warn’t no bed in the parlor, nor a
sign of a bed; but heaps of parlors in towns has
beds in them. There was a big fireplace that
was bricked on the bottom, and the bricks was
kept clean and red by pouring water on them
and scrubbing them with another brick; sometimes they wash them over with red water-paint
that they call Spanish-brown, same as they do
in town. They had big brass dog-irons that could
hold up a saw-log. There was a clock on the
middle of the mantelpiece, with a picture of a
town painted on the bottom half of the glass front,
and a round place in the middle of it for the sun,
and you could see the pendulum swinging behind it. It was beautiful to hear that clock tick;
and sometimes when one of these peddlers had
been along and scoured her up and got her in
good shape, she would start in and strike a hundred and fifty before she got tuckered out. They
wouldn’t took any money for her.
Well, there was a big outlandish parrot on each
side of the clock, made out of something like
chalk, and painted up gaudy. By one of the parrots was a cat made of crockery, and a crockery
dog by the other; and when you pressed down
on them they squeaked, but didn’t open their
mouths nor look different nor interested. They
squeaked through underneath. There was a
couple of big wild-turkey-wing fans spread out
behind those things. On the table in the middle
of the room was a kind of a lovely crockery
basket that had apples and oranges and peaches
and grapes piled up in it, which was much redder and yellower and prettier than real ones is,
but they warn’t real because you could see
where pieces had got chipped off and showed
the white chalk, or whatever it was, underneath.
This table had a cover made out of beautiful
oilcloth, with a red and blue spread-eagle painted
on it, and a painted border all around. It come all
the way from Philadelphia, they said. There was
some books, too, piled up perfectly exact, on
each corner of the table. One was a big family
Bible full of pictures. One was Pilgrim’s
Progress, about a man that left his family, it didn’t
say why. I read considerable in it now and then.
The statements was interesting, but tough. Another was Friendship’s Offering, full of beautiful stuff and poetry; but I didn’t read the poetry.
Another was Henry Clay’s Speeches, and another was Dr. Gunn’s Family Medicine, which
told you all about what to do if a body was sick
or dead. There was a hymn book, and a lot of
other books. And there was nice split-bottom
chairs, and perfectly sound, too — not bagged
down in the middle and busted, like an old basket.
They had pictures hung on the walls — mainly
Washingtons and Lafayettes, and battles, and
Highland Marys, and one called “Signing the
Declaration.” There was some that they called
crayons, which one of the daughters which was
dead made her own self when she was only
fifteen years old. They was different from any
pictures I ever see before — blacker, mostly,
than is common. One was a woman in a slim
black dress, belted small under the armpits, with
bulges like a cabbage in the middle of the
sleeves, and a large black scoop-shovel bonnet
with a black veil, and white slim ankles crossed
about with black tape, and very wee black slippers, like a chisel, and she was leaning pensive
on a tombstone on her right elbow, under a weeping willow, and her other hand hanging down
her side holding a white handkerchief and a reticule, and underneath the picture it said “Shall I
Never See Thee More Alas.” Another one was
a young lady with her hair all combed up straight

to the top of her head, and knotted there in front
of a comb like a chair-back, and she was crying
into a handkerchief and had a dead bird laying
on its back in her other hand with its heels up,
and underneath the picture it said “I Shall Never
Hear Thy Sweet Chirrup More Alas.” There
was one where a young lady was at a window
looking up at the moon, and tears running down
her cheeks; and she had an open letter in one
hand with black sealing wax showing on one
edge of it, and she was mashing a locket with a
chain to it against her mouth, and underneath
the picture it said “And Art Thou Gone Yes Thou
Art Gone Alas.” These was all nice pictures, I
reckon, but I didn’t somehow seem to take to
them, because if ever I was down a little they
always give me the fan-tods. Everybody was
sorry she died, because she had laid out a lot
more of these pictures to do, and a body could
see by what she had done what they had lost.
But I reckoned that with her disposition she was
having a better time in the graveyard. She was
at work on what they said was her greatest picture when she took sick, and every day and every night it was her prayer to be allowed to live
till she got it done, but she never got the chance.
It was a picture of a young woman in a long
white gown, standing on the rail of a bridge all
ready to jump off, with her hair all down her
back, and looking up to the moon, with the tears
running down her face, and she had two arms
folded across her breast, and two arms stretched
out in front, and two more reaching up towards
the moon — and the idea was to see which pair
would look best, and then scratch out all the
other arms; but, as I was saying, she died before
she got her mind made up, and now they kept
this picture over the head of the bed in her room,
and every time her birthday come they hung
flowers on it. Other times it was hid with a little
curtain. The young woman in the picture had a
kind of a nice sweet face, but there was so many
arms it made her look too spidery, seemed to
me.
This young girl kept a scrap-book when she was
alive, and used to paste obituaries and accidents
and cases of patient suffering in it out of the
Presbyterian Observer, and write poetry after
them out of her own head. It was very good
poetry. This is what she wrote about a boy by
the name of Stephen Dowling Bots that fell down
a well and was drownded:
ODE TO STEPHEN DOWLING BOTS,
DEC’D
And did young Stephen sicken, And did young
Stephen die? And did the sad hearts thicken,
And did the mourners cry?
No; such was not the fate of Young Stephen
Dowling Bots; Though sad hearts round him
thickened, ’Twas not from sickness’ shots.
No whooping-cough did rack his frame, Nor
measles drear with spots; Not these impaired
the sacred name Of Stephen Dowling Bots.
Despised love struck not with woe That head of
curly knots, Nor stomach troubles laid him low,
Young Stephen Dowling Bots.
O no. Then list with tearful eye, Whilst I his fate
do tell. His soul did from this cold world fly By
falling down a well.
They got him out and emptied him; Alas it was
too late; His spirit was gone for to sport aloft In
the realms of the good and great.
If Emmeline Grangerford could make poetry
like that before she was fourteen, there ain’t no
telling what she could a done by and by. Buck
said she could rattle off poetry like nothing. She
didn’t ever have to stop to think. He said she
would slap down a line, and if she couldn’t find
anything to rhyme with it would just scratch it
out and slap down another one, and go ahead.
She warn’t particular; she could write about anything you choose to give her to write about just
so it was sadful. Every time a man died, or a
woman died, or a child died, she would be on
hand with her “tribute” before he was cold.
She called them tributes. The neighbors said it
was the doctor first, then Emmeline, then the
undertaker — the undertaker never got in ahead
of Emmeline but once, and then she hung fire
on a rhyme for the dead person’s name, which
was Whistler. She warn’t ever the same after
that; she never complained, but she kinder pined
away and did not live long. Poor thing, many’s
the time I made myself go up to the little room
that used to be hers and get out her poor old
scrap-book and read in it when her pictures had
been aggravating me and I had soured on her a
little. I liked all that family, dead ones and all,
and warn’t going to let anything come between
us.
To Be Continued Next Issue

■ Just a 30-minute drive from
Benalla, tucked away in the rolling
Dookie Hills, you will discover the
relaxed Tallis Wine cellar door.
Be transported to a natural rural
setting as you motor through the
property’s gates. Discover warm
hospitality, distinctive hand crafted
single vineyard wines to be enjoyed
with seasonally selected local
handmade produce.
This cellar door ticks all the
boxes for a place to bring visiting
guests or for a catch up with family
and friends. Experience the
captivating beauty of the Dookie
Hills with sweeping views of the
Strathbogie Ranges, fireside or out
on the relaxed deck
Whatever time of year, the
landscape will have put on a show.
On the bridge of winter and spring
the canola uplifts with parcels of
iridescent splendour.
A classic Australian pastoral
scene awaits you in summer with
fields of golden wheat contrasting
against vivid blue skies. On a clear
day in winter, you can see the
snowy peaks of Victoria’s Alps and
oftenwitness as a storm brews.
Choose to be guided through a
wine tasting, sip a glass of wine or
beer, share a selection of grazing
platters from our seasonal menu,
homemade cakes and coffee, or if
you are interested in entertaining a
large crowd the BBQ area is also
available for hire. Keep an eye on
the Tallis Facebook and wesbite as
there is regular live music and it
pays to make a booking.
For those keen on getting outside
and close to nature, our Rock
Correa walking track (one hour
return) from the cellar door is
signposted with 11 interpretive signs
and offers a chance to sight
kangaroos and local wildlife, taking
in breathtaking 360 degree panoramas back to Benalla and beyond,
While Tallis Wine has been
producing wine from the red
Cambrian soils over 15 years, the
cellar door is a recent venture for
the Tallis family.
Architecturally designed by
family member John Tallis and
built by Richard Tallis (winemaker
and owner) with local tradesmen,
the cellar door was opened in early
2012 and is constructed from straw
bales grown on the property,
receycled or sustainable building
materials with an energy efficient
layout.
The philosophy behind the cellar
door design was to minimise the
impact of the building on the
environment and maintain a sense
of connectedness to the land.
Tallis Wine cellar door is a
rewarding haven for wine lovers
and well worth a visit when staying
in Benalla. For bookings call 0437
825 547. Find out more at:
www.talliswine.com.au
Open: Tuesday to Thursday
10am-3pm. Friday to Sunday 11am5pm. Closed Monday. The walking
track closes one hour prior to
closing.

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Melbourne Obser ver - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 23

Places To Go

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Page 24 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Places To Go

10% DISCOUNT IF YOU MENTION THIS AD
IN PERSON, OR IF YOU QUOTE ‘OBSERVER 717’
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Melbourne Obser ver - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 25

Places To Go

Page 26 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Melbourne

Observer

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West Hollywood

You meet the nicest people in the Village
■ Hi everyone, from my suite at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and
Suites comes this week's news.

Places to dine out

Meeting Dr Kildare
■ If you lived in or are just visiting West Hollywood you might
run into Richard Chamberlain (Dr Kildare) on a daily basis as
he goes for his walk around the beautiful tree lined streets of the
village.
George Richard Chamberlain is an American stage and screen
actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the
television show Dr. Kildare from1961 to1966.
Since then, he has appeared in several mini-series such as
Shogun (1980) and The Thorn Birds (1983), and many successful films, and he has performed classical stage roles and worked
in musical theatre.

Abbey Stone’s release
■ Melbourne singer-songwriter Abbey Stone is back. Her
star is on the rise. Slated for supports to some of the biggest
names in show business, her music is reaching as far as Hollywood.
Three years after releasing and touring with her debut EP
Doorways, Abbey Stone is back with her new release Complete.
Reflecting upon the themes of Complete, Stone says that
this record is "less about someone else, and mostly about me.
Coming off the back of Doorways, I wanted to write a body of
work that reflected my personal and musical growth since I
released that EP."
Working out of a home studio in Point Cook, which was set
up for the sole purpose of creating this EP (later named Still
Here Studios, an homage to her debut).
“We spent hours writing, producing and eventually engineering what would later become Complete.
"I have worked in studios before but never this hands on. I
wanted to learn about the trivial things that go into creating a
record that you might not necessarily even think about as a
listener."
Complete focuses on the ideals of self-love, confidence and
closure; something that Stone describes as "the perfect follow
up to Doorways, because in that EP, I was writing about my
longing for someone else, and now I am saying, "well, it wasn't
meant to be and I am so much better for it."
Complete was released last month.

$54.5 million mansion
■ Jay Z, Beyonce and their three kids are thought to be renting
the huge estate for a jaw-dropping $400,000 a month since the
superstar gave birth on June 12.
Known as La Villa Contenta, or the happy house, the clan are
thought to be settling in just fine and with the main mansion
boasting 14 bathrooms, 10 bedrooms and a 25ft infinity pool there is plenty of room to potter around.
It is thought the family and their huge entourage are renting
the estate until the end of August as their other property in West
Hollywood is renovated for the twins, believed to be a boy and
girl.
The new babies spent just over a week at the hospital before
being allowed to leave.
For a celebrity, La Villa Contenta is worth every cent of its
cool $54.5m price tag, which includes a 'natatorium' or pool house
“inspired by grand European follies”, a large office building and
a staff housing complex.
Relaxing walks can be partaken in the 6.3 acres of grounds
including a rose garden with more than 1000 flower bushes and
a landscaped desert area.

● Richard Chamberlain and Alan Johnson

GavinWood

From my Suite at the
Ramada Plaza Complex
on Santa Monica Blvd

Visit Sunset Strip
■ If you are considering a move to Los Angeles or just coming
over for a holiday on the Sunset Strip then I have got a special
deal for you.
We would love to see you at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and
Suites, 8585 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood.
I have secured a terrific holiday deal for readers of the
Melbourne Observer.
Please mention 'Melbourne Observer' when you book and you
will receive the 'Special Rate of the Day'.
Please contact: Joanna at info@ramadaweho.com
Happy Holidays,
Gavin Wood

● Abbey Stone

www.gavinwood.us

Kitchen 23
Mix and mingle on the outdoor patio. One of the most desirable places to be seen in the WeHo LGBTQ scene (though,
obviously, hetero friendly). Offers upscale comfort food, delicious drinks and a cool vibe, all at very reasonable prices.
Alma at The Standard - West Hollywood.
You'll love these imaginative, SoCal dishes centered on a
singular sensation or feeling and focused on amazing textures
and presentation. Prepare your senses for overload.
Tower Bar at Sunset Tower Hotel - West Hollywood.
Cosy up in this elegant, highbrow haven with sweeping vistas
of the city. Splurge for a fancy night out (or in, if you're a hotel
guest!) with a delicious meal influenced by northern Italian
cuisine and French bistros, topped with California coastal notes.
Sunset Strip.
A stretch of glitz and glamour that connects Hollywood and
Beverly Hills, the portion of Sunset Boulevard known as the
Sunset Strip is today part of West Hollywood.
For much of its early life the strip was an in-between landscape that welcomed the nightclubs, gambling houses and juke
joints that could not survive the streets of more vigilantly patrolled Los Angeles.
Just a mile and a half in length, the Sunset Strip is bigger
than life, known for its enormous billboards, its star-making
and star-studded clubs and its choice boutiques.
To the north of the Strip are neighbourhoods that define the
Hollywood lifestyle, from tidy bungalows and low-slung ranchstyle homes to magnificent traditional and contemporary estates. Narrow, winding streets rise up glens and canyons to
evermore-impressive views over the sparkling lights of the
Los Angeles basin below.
The Strip drew an entertainment crowd from the earliest
days of Hollywood Studios when casinos and back room booze
offered respite from stricter city regulations.
Glamorous nightclubs - Ciro's, the Mocambo and the
Trocadero were the places to see and be seen.
The Pacific Electric Railroad's Balloon Route Trolley travelled from Downtown L.A. through Hollywood to the beach
and back. A pair of trolley cars plied the hilly dirt roadway of
Laurel Canyon. Among the tourists were prospective land
buyers. New restaurants and bars, clubs and boutiques crowded
together along the covered boulevard, rising and falling and
rising again in popularity with each trend in music, fashion and
contemporary culture.
The Strip found its way into songs and movies, television,
books and newspapers.
In 1984 when West Hollywood was incorporated as a city,
The Strip, especially its western end became home to more
hotels and office buildings. Even today, somewhat more dignified, the Strip is still a visual treat with billboards, neon and
picturesque people clamouring for attention and sensational
food, music and fashion rewarding visitors from around the
world. It's just waiting for you to come and experience the
Strip.

WeHo, foodie heaven
Gracefully pig out at your choice of hundreds of restaurants
and eateries in West Hollywood (WeHo).
Foodies and gourmands book WeHo stays for seamless
restaurant hopping (and, obviously, all the other attractions that
make WeHo a dream vacation).
Some of the best food is right in your hotel.
Andaz - West Hollywood.
Expect the unexpected. Dine on farm-to-table, Southern
California-inspired cuisine while basking in the lights of the
glammed-up Sunset Strip.
Surround yourself with millennial rock-n-rollers, music industry insiders and tatted-up hipsters hankering for a hearty,
market-fresh meal.
Boxwood at The London - West Hollywood.
Indulge at Boxwood to taste an innovative spin on New
American food. Served in the classy Sitting Room or the luscious Rooftop West lounge, food comes with awesome views.
Mardi Restaurant at Palihouse - West Hollywood.
Chef Kris Tominaga is bringing a family-style shared plates
menu with bold European flavours to Mardi Restaurant at
Palihouse.
Dine on big plates of roasted chicken, lamb ribs and
butterflied fish while enjoying the summer weather in the cozy
patio.
Petit Ermitage - West Hollywood.
Feel the magic and romance in a nooked away table or
under the starry So-Cal sky. Relish unique fare that's a blend of
California rustic merged with Italian, Japanese and Egyptian influences. While the cheese and charcuterie plating is a
top menu item, the Gypsy Breakfast is worth the wake-up
call.

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Observer Victorian Sport

Melbourne Obser ver - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 27

Melbourne

Vacationers celebrate in style
Cash up for grabs

■ Last Thursday saw a mammoth night of
harness racing at Kilmore, featuring the
2189m Silver and Bronze Consolations of the
Empire Stallions Vicbred Super Series for all
ages and sexes.
With plenty of cash up for grabs, the racing was keen all through the evening as owners and trainers chased the major prize, having failed to make the rich finals held at Melton
the previous weekend.
The 2Y0 C & G saw Jodi Quinlan successful aboard Art Major-Shes Got It All gelding Be Major Threat in 2-00.8. Moving forward three wide in the final circuit from just
off the speed, Be Major Threat ran home
strongly to prevail by 1.4 metres over Stefsbest
which followed him home, with Tin Roof
Raider using the sprint lane from four back
the markers to finish third.
Local Romsey trainer Paul Green combined with David Miles to land the 2Y0 Fillies
Silver with Pick Up Line, a daughter of Four
Starzzz Shark and Chick At The Bar. Settling
mid-field from the extreme draw, Pick Up
Line made the final bend three wide, gaining
the day by a head in 2-00.7 from the favourite
Hakuna which trailed the pacemaker
Fruitdrops. Scarlett Brew weakened to finish
third after leading into the straight. A rank
outsider, Pick Up Line paid odds of $37.90.
Classy Sportswriter-Striking Spirit gelding
Spiritwriter captured the 4Y0 E & G Silver
for Burrumbeet's Michael Stanley. Sent forward three wide from gate four to park in the
open, Spiritwriter received cover when Warfare moved to occupy the "death-seat" midrace. Easing three wide approaching the final
bend, Spiritwriter was too strong over the concluding stages to score by 1.4 metres in 159.2. Firenglow was third 1.2 metres away
after trailing the front runner Role With It.
Wallan's Ruth, Noel and Chris Shinn's
home bred Rocknroll Hanover-Albertique
gelding Albarock finally broke through for a
long awaited victory by taking the 3Y0 C & G
Silver at Supertab odds of $41,70. Settling a
long way off the leader SolidAs A Rock from
gate four, Albarock gained a nice ride home
before moving four wide on the home turn
and despite shifting out in the straight, careered
away to register a 9.9 metre victory in a rate
of 1-58.7 from Blissful Stride which trailed
the leader, with Somebeachshadow third after being held up at a crucial stage.
Coimadai trainer Steve Zammit's Modern
Art-Awesome Powers mare Platinum Power
was an upset winner of the 4Y0 Silver, paying $16.90. Driven by Nathan Jack, Platinum
Power was extricated from four back the
markers in the last lap to pounce on the leaders in the straight, accounting for Keayang
Destiny which had every chance after trailing the hot favourite Bou Chard which raced
parked into the final bend before being gathered in over the concluding stages to finish
third. The margins 4.9 by 1.3 metres in a mile
rate of 1-59.3.
The 3Y0 C & G Bronze went the way of
the Marg Lee (Terang) trained and Xavier
O'Connor driven Four Starzzz Shark-Jilliby
Jamilla gelding Jilliby Mako in a rate of 200.9. Enjoying the run of the race from the
pole trailing Budding Caesar (gate three),
Jilliby Mako finished best along the sprint lane
to nose out Lochinvar Delight (three wide at
bell), with Budding Caesar 2.9 metres away
in third place.
Bannockburn trainer/driver Geoff Webster
snared the 4Y0 E & G Bronze with Rocknroll
Hanover-Golden Flyin gelding Keep On
Rocking. Given every opportunity one/one
from gate two on the second line, Keep On
Rocking sprinted like a gazelle on turning to
register a runaway 13.2 metre margin over a
game Four Starzzz Forsa which led in 1-58.4.
Hot To Rock was 2.5 metres away third after
following Willem home in the final circuit.

■ Victorians holidaying in Queensland were
celebrating in style at Albion Park on Saturday,
following the victory of outstanding 6Y0 Dream
Away-Sheer Finesse gelding Hectorjayjay in
Queensland’s biggest race – the $200,540 (Group
1) Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship
for M0 or better class horses over 2680 metres.
Trained at Avenel by David Aiken and driven
by regular reinsman son Josh, Hectorjayjay
came from an almost near last impossible position on the rain effected track in the final circuit,
making the home turn right off the track to mow
down his rivals in the straight, registering a runaway 1.1 metre margin over New Zealander
My Field Marshall (one/one) and the NSW
trained pacemaker Tiger Tara who was 1.2
metres away in third place.
Two other Victorians Lennytheshark and Mr
Mojito were fourth and fifth. The mile rate 156.1.

Double secured

■ Nanneella (Rochester area) part-owner/
trainer Col Godden who has only a small team
in work at any given time, enjoyed a "night of
nights at Shepparton last Tuesday, combining
with Strathfieldsaye reinsman Glenn Douglas
to land a winning a double on the big 11- event
card.
First to arrive was 4Y0 Art Colony-Millenium
Outbreak mare Ridethewildside in the Neatline
Homes Pace (1st Division) for C1 class over
2190 metres, leading throughout from gate five
to defeat Lady Sanza which trailed by an easy
14.3 metres, with Caesareal 9.1 metres away in
third place after a mid-field trip. The mile rate
1-59.
Nine year old Jet Laag-Computerize gelding
LightsAnd Music the pride of the stable chalked
up his 19th success at start number 158 by taking the Elite Horse Transport Pace for C0 to C3
class over 2190 metres.
Starting from inside the second line, Lights
And Music possied one/three as the roughie
Northern Eagle led from the pole. Gaining a
beaut ride into the final bend following Stuart
ahead of him, Lights And Music gave chase to
the favourite Maken Art Magic on turning and
finished best to prevail by 1.8 metres in a rate of
2-02 from Maken Art Magic and Stuart who
was 9.2 metres back in third place.

First win since Jan.

■ Albury visitor Sammysluck, a 7Y0 gelded
son of Elsu and Shez Ryans registered his first
victory since January when victorious in the 2nd
Division of the Neatline Homes Pace. Driven
by local Matt Newberry who had earlier in the
night saluted aboard Village Encounter for dad
John, Sammysluck enjoyed a sweet passage
one/one from gate two on the second line as
This Is Your Life led from the pole.
Easing wide on turning, Sammysluck finished strongly to score by 13.9 metres over a
death-seating Winkn Nod and Bensononfire in
a rate of 2-02.

Won by half-head

■ Kialla trainer John Hallam ultra consistent
home bred 5Y0 Pegasus Spur-El Scorcho mare
Scorching Along snared the Shepparton Sale
23rd July Trotters Mobile for T1 & T2 class
over 2190 metres.
Leading out from gate two, reinsman Rod
Petroff elected to hand over the front running to
the in-form Black Valley to enjoy the run of the
race. Using the sprint lane, Scorching Along just
got there to win by a half head in a tricky finish,
with Aimforthemoon 16.3 metres away in third
place after racing uncovered for the final circuit. The mile rate 2-02.1.

Worked hard

■ At Horsham the day before, 4Y0 Major In
Art-Gates Closed gelding The Big Show was a
tough victor of the DNR Logistics Pace for C1
class over 2200 metres.
Trained at Mt Gambier by Kevin Von Duve,

Harness Racing

Given easy time

■ Shepparton duo Laura Crossland (trainer) and
David Moran (driver) landed the 2Y0 C & G
Silver with Sportswriter-Shake It Up Baby gelding Lochinvar Hugo in a rate of 2-03.5.
Given an easy time from the pole trailing the
leader Scrawl, Lochinvar angled off the inside
in plenty of time and when taken wide on straightening, finished at a great rate to score by 4.4
metres in advance of first starter Mighty
Sheffield (one/three - three wide last lap) and
Monterei Duke (three back the markers).
Melbourne

Observer

len-baker@
bigpond.com

with Len Baker
The Big Show driven by Terang based Tim
McLean worked extremely hard from outside
the front line to eventually park outside the pacemaker Presidential Grin. Crossing to lead at the
bell, The Big Show appeared to be a sitting target for those back in the field as runs from the
rear commenced in the last lap.
Headed on the final bend, The Big Show
refused to give in and came again in the straight
to record a meritorious head margin over Kate
Lovemetwotimes and Sassy Man which parked
out from the bell. The mile rate 2-00.8.

Raced strongly

■ Terang's Mattie Craven landed a stable
double for the afternoon at Horsham with
Emveepee (Chris Svanosio) taking the T0 or
better class Wimmera Mail Times Trotters
Handicap over 2200 metres and Kiwi bred All
Jokers Todaright with Mattie in the sulky the
Off The Bit 3WM Saturday Pace for C2 & C3
class over the same distance.
Emveepee (Majestic Son-Fulloninterest) finished his race off strongly from mid-field to register a 2.5 metre margin over Waikare Astronomer and Social Fireball in 2-04.9, while All Jokers Todaright (Washington VC-Aces Win) did
similar in accounting for Our Shanghai Noon
and Artful Christian in 1-59.7.

Did it tough

■ All American bred 4Y0 Yankee Glide-Fashion Tempo mare Argentine Tango was a strong
victor of the Oxley Feed Mills Trotters Mobile
for T0 & T1 class over 1650 metres at Bendigo
on Wednesday. Trained at Bolinda by Alison
Alford and driven by "Hall Of Famer" husband
Chris, Argentine Tango despite doing it tough in
the open, surged clear on turning to score by 2.5
metres in a rate of 1-59, defeating Outpunch
Enchanter and Illawong Sunny.

Bendigo special

■ Bolinda trainer Brent Lilley enjoyed a special night at Bendigo, winning four races on the
program. Village Jolt-Miracle Lover gelding
Loveisamyth (Chris Alford) greeted the judge
in the Alabar 3Y0 Pace over 1650 metres prior
to Any Old Way, Sunny Afternoon and Eyrish
Mist taking three of the trotting events beamed
into France. Anthony Butt guided both Any Old
Day and Eyrish Mist to victory, with Nathan
Jack taking the reins aboard Sunny Afternoon.

■ Two features were held at Tabcorp Park,
Melton on Friday - the $20,000 (Group 3) Hes
Watching @ Alabar Jane Ellen for Mares Mo or
better and the $18,000 Allied Express Pace for
M2 - M4 class, both over 2240 metres.
Kerryn Manning's Million Dollar Cam-Eyes
Of Courage 5Y0 Ameretto, a former NSW
trainee, snared the Jane Ellen, exploding away
on the final bend off a cosy mid-field passage to
blitz her rivals by 17.3 metres, defeating
Glenferrie Blade and Rockstar Angel in 1-55.4.
John Justice's in-form 6Y0 Gotta Go CullectJill Forsa gelding Gotta Go Henry led throughout in the Allied Express, just lasting by a head
over stablemate Hotasel which dead-heated for
second after trailing and using the sprint lane
with Three Ways (three wide last lap). Bred and
raced by John, Gotta Go Henry returned a mile
rate of 1-57.7.

Wine Column

■ I wrote a few weeks ago about Orange's
Brangayne having two vineyards - one decidedly higher and cooler than the other.
They're certainly not the only ones in the
district adopting this approach. Ross Hill also
has two vineyards - their 'home' vineyard at
Wallace Lane, high on the slopes of Mt
Canobolas, and the Griffin Road Vineyard,
on the milder north-western edge of Orange
as you head along the Mitchell Highway towards Molong and Dubbo.
If winemaker Phil Kerney didn't have the
Griffin Road Vineyard at his disposal, the
only red in Ross Hill's premium Pinnacle
Series would be a pinot noir.
That's the only red variety that Phil and
Ross Hill's owners reckon will ripen at
Wallace Lane, and hence it's the only red
variety planted there.
But the Pinnacle Series label carries four
reds, of which the 2015 vintages have just
been released - the two I've reviewed here
plus a 2015 Shiraz and a 2015 Cabernet
Sauvignon, the latter already having sold out.
They formed a very solid quartet, which
will expand to a quintet if Phil Kerney gets
his way, by the addition of a pinot noir made
100 per cent from the Griffin Road Vineyard.
That should make for a highly interesting
comparative tasting - two pinots made by the
same hands from vineyards separated by a
couple of hundred feet in altitude.
Visit www.rosshillwines.com.au
WINE REVIEWS
Ross Hill 2015 Pinnacle Series Pinot Noir
($40): Made from 100 per cent Wallace Lane
fruit, this is a quintessential cool-climate
pinot, showing subtle flavours and a mediumbodied, sinewy structure rather than beefy
muscle. It's a spicy, food-friendly wine that
I'd love to try in Beijing or an Australian
Chinatown with the best Peking Duck. Visit
www.rosshillwines.com.au
WINE OF THE WEEK
Huntington Estate 2016 Barrel-Fermented
Chardonnay ($24): The Mudgee district has
a proud history with chardonnay and, in fact,
claims to have been the birthplace for the
variety inAustralia. This is a richly flavoured,
complex dry white which spent eight months
sitting on yeast lees in barrel. Its fruit flavours
are primarily in the stonefruit sector of the
flavour wheel but there's a hint of old-fashioned chardonnay oakiness there as well …
and I like that. Visit huntingtonestate.com.au
- John Rozentals

Page 28 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Observer Victorian Sport
Melbourne

Royal Symphony, on song
■ If early form is any indication, top South
Australian youngster, Royal Symphony, is definitely the one to beat come some of the classics
races.
The rising three year-old made it three on
end with another resounding victory at
Flemington at his first try over 1600 metres,
winning the Taj Rossi series final in great style.
As usual he missed the start, but his rider,
Dwayne Dunn, whose wifeAmanda owns a
share, just bided his time knowing what he had
beneath him, and gradually eased his way
through.
At the turn he was still about six lengths off
the leaders, but no panic.
Dwayne just eased Royal Symphony out and
he went up to the leaders in quick style.
A number of punters, who had taken the short
odds, were a bit worried when after moving up
to the leaders he appeared to stargaze.
Dunn soon got his mind back on the job and
with a flick of the whip he bounded away to win
by just over four lengths.
Prepared by leading South Australian
trainer, Tony Mc Evoy, who feels that he has
something special and felt that when he won his
first start, a two-year old maiden at Racing.Com
Park at Pakenham scoring by 3.3 lengths one
again missing the ‘kick’ and settling well back.
McEvoy summed it up after his big win at
Flemington when he said "when he clicks into
gear, hold on to your hat".
His breeding didn't suggest anything special
being by Domesday from Naturalist, but
Amanda Dunn stuck with the youngie and has
proved spot on.
He is a big strong galloper, who puts a space
in them very quickly, but I am sure Tony, along
with Dwayne, will be working on his barrier
manners.
He is the ruling favourite for the rich Caulfield
Guineas over the MRC's Caulfield Cup Carnival over 1600 metres and is the early pick for
the Victoria Derby at Flemington over the
VRC'S Melbourne Carnival in November, all
going well.
On what he has shown so far it will take one
out of the box to knock him off.

Record nominations

■ The Melbourne Racing Club is over the
moon with news that record nominations have
been received for their two-year old-plum, the
Blue Diamond, to be run next February for twoyear olds.
A record of 1470 yearlings have been nominated for the 2018 $1.5 million Ladbrokes Blue
Diamond over 1200 metres.
This year's figure is up 89 from last year's
total of 1381 noms. up 6.44 per cent.
Topping the list of nominations in the victorious 2017 Blue Diamond training partnership of
David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig, who
have submitted 112 entries for Victoria's premier juvenile event.
Other top nominators include Gai
Waterhouse and Andrew Bott, with 97, global
giant Godolphin (89), Sydney-based Snowden
Racing Peter and Paul, have entered 69 and
BMW Caulfield Cup winning trainer, Ciaron
Maher, with 66 noms.
Champion Snitzel, once again heads the stallion list with 83 of his sons and daughters nominated, with rising star, I Am Invincible, a close
second with 78 of his own progeny.
Fastnet Rock has a strong hand again with
49 entries, having sired last year's winner,
Catchy.
Excitement begins to surround the nomination of the Hawkes Racing trained Sebring Colt,
Prince of Caviar, who is the second foal out of
unbeaten legendary mare, Black Caviar, who
won 25 races on end.
All horses nominated for the 2018 Ladbrokes
Blue Diamond Stakes are also eligible for the
2018 Group 3, $350,000 Catanach's Jewellers
Blue Sapphire Stakes over 1200 metres for
three-year olds, to be run during next year's
Caulfield Cup Carnival.

● Royal Symphony. Racing Photos
horses has reared its ugly head again this time
in New South Wales with an unvaccinated horse
■ The dreaded Hendra Virus a scourge among infected with the virus.
The infected gelding was euthanised in northern New South Wales.
He was put down on a property near Lismore;
it is the first confirmed case of the virus in New
South Wales this year.
Flying Foxes are the natural carriers of the
Hendra virus, which can affect human beings,
horses and dogs.
Vaccination remains the most effective way
of reducing the risk of Hendra Virus infection
in horses, but good biosecurity and personal hygiene measures should always be practised.

Hendra virus alert

Ted Ryan

Bendigo’s big day

■ The Bendigo Jockey Club is gearing up for
their big Mosstrooper Steeplechase day coming
up next Sunday (July 23)at their picturesque
course.
On course patrons who correctly select the
winner of races 3-4-5- and 6, will be in the running to win a table of 10 in the Nursery of Champions Trackside Marquee on Jayco Bendigo
Cup Day, on Wednesday November 1, valued
at over $2000.
The competition will again be located in the
race book. The winner must be on course to
claim the prize.
There will be nine races on a tip-top program
with four jumps races.
A maiden Hurdle over 3200 metres, the 1JW
Hurdle over 3200 metres, then the ever popular
Brendan Drechsler Hurdle named after the
former Chairman of Bendigo, over 3600 metres.
The highlight of the day is the Mosstrooper
Steeple over 3600 metres.
It is always a popular jumps day, and plenty
of action at the magnificent Nursery of Champions. Hope to see you there.

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Postcript Pars
Travel Extra

■ Berlin hardly springs to mind when talk
turns to tropical escapes, but pleasure-seekers in their thousands flock daily to the
Tropical Islands Resort that’s 60km south
of the city to revel on its sands, swim its
waters, bask in 26 degrees warmth, and
walk its dense rainforest.
And they do so even in winter, when
around them there’s snow as far as the eye
can see …
For this amazing Resort has been created inside one of the largest buildings on
earth, a monstrous 360 metres long, 210
metres wide and 107 metres high, and
originally built seventeen years ago to house
the huge CL160 CargoLifter airship. But
CargoLifter went bankrupt before a single
airship saw its interior, and the hangar was
abandoned.
Then in 2003 Malaysian entrepreneur
Colin Au bought the hangar for Euro17.5m
(AU$26m,) and inside created a “tropical
sea” covering 4,400 sq metres and a “Bali
lagoon” of 1,200 sq metres for swimming,
with vast sandy beaches alongside both,
several other swimming pools, plus fountains, whirlpools and waterslides.
He also added the world’s biggest indoor
rainforest with 50,000 trees and plants, a
novelty golf course, and a stage for evening
entertainment, and let loose flamingos,
quail, pheasants and other birds to stride
and fly the resort, and turtles and fish to
live in its waters.
And finally a dozen bars and restaurants
offering Asian, European and American fare,
accommodation blocks for overnight stays
or longer, shops and boutiques, and Europe’s
largest tropical sauna and spa complex,
many housed in structures replicating the
architectures of Thailand, Borneo, Bali and
Samoa.
Tropical Islands Resort is open 24/7 and
can cater for up to 6,000 visitors a day.
For details including entry fees, additional
optional costs inside, and overnight accommodation, go to www.tropical-islands.de
- David Ellis

34th advances
■ Filming has officially wrapped on the new
Australian sci/fi-action film Occupation.
The film, starring an amazing ensemble
cast of local and international names including Dan Ewing (Red Billabong, Home
and Away),Temuera Morrison (Star Wars,
Once Were Warriors), Stephany Jacobsen
(Revenge, Battlestar Galactica), Rhiannon
Fish (The 100, Home and Away), Charles
Mesure (Desperate Housewives, Once Upon
a Time) Jacqueline McKenzie ( Romper
Stomper, The 4400), Felix Williamson (The
Great Gatsby, Underbelly Razor), Izzy
Stevens (Underbelly Razor, Puberty Blues),
Trystan Go (The Family Law ), Zachary
Garred (General Hospital), Charles Terrier
( Neighbours), Aaron Jeffery (McLeod’s
Daughters) and Bruce Spence (Star Wars,
Mad Max 2), was completed on the Gold
Coast using top local crew and supporting
cast topping over 300 in total employed
throughout.

Southern Pielands

● Catchy, winning last year’s Blue Diamond. Racing Photos

■ Could New South Wales be on the verge
of having a new geographical region – the
Southern Pie-lands, after the stunning success in June of Australia’s first-ever monthlong celebration of the great Aussie pie in
the Southern Highlands between Sydney and
Canberra?
Dubbed Pie Time, it saw a mind-blowing
100,000-plus pies wolfed down during the
month by locals and visitors alike in cafés,
pubs, restaurants, take-away shops and
home dining rooms, and had chefs working
24-hours straight at times to keep ovens
catering for demand… or having to shut up
shop early after simply running out of supplies.
And pie aficionados happily told of driving from Victoria, the ACT, Queensland and
from across New South Wales to experience as many as they could of the diversity
of pies they’d heard were on offer, pies both
hot and cold, and sweet and savoury.

● Lachlan Wolters as Lord Faquad
■ The Young Australian Broadway Chorus’s (YABC)big,
bold production of Shrek the Musical Jr featured rousing
chorus numbers, cheeky humour, and an energetic and talented cast.
Based on the original animated movie voiced by Mike
Myers and Eddie Murphy, Shrek (Tristan Sicari) and Donkey (Aidan Khan) promise to rescue Princess Fiona (Jasmine Arthur) from the clutches of a terrifying dragon
(Kristen Robertson), so that Lord Faquaad (Lachlan
Wolters) can marry her and become King.
The ambitious self-serving Farquaad would then reward Shrek by giving him back the swamp that was inundated with fairytale characters the Lord had banished from
Duloc.
The stunning cast entertained from start to finish with
solid all-round performances. Sicari and Khan stayed true
to the Myers and Murphy characterisations which for the
most part worked.
Can’t imagine Shrek without a Scots accent and while
Khan was fabulous, attempting to mimic the greatness that
is Murphy had its dangers. Nevertheless Khan displayed a
confidence and comic presence vital to the role.
Arthur flirted with the audience with vigour and great
humour, and Wolters mastered his dastardly character to
great effect.
Perhaps the brightest star was the glorious Kristen
Robertson - resplendent in her divine dragon costume. Her
powerful vocals were a standout.
The ensemble cast gave it their all and their energy and
enthusiasm was stirring.
Particularly enjoyable were the cleverly staged chorus
numbers including Story of My Life by the fairytale outcasts, featuring a noteworthy Dijana Razumic as Pinocchio,
and What’s up Duloc.
This production at the Union Theatre may have been all
about the kids but there was some serious grown-up talent
that inspired this marvellous production, including director
Robert Coates, choreographer Jacquie Green, musical director Andy Coates and the magnificent costumes by Jennifer McKenzie.
With this much talent I can’t wait for YABC’s next production coming soon in January.
- Review by Beth Klein

● Coodabeen Champions: Greg Champion, Ian Cover, Bill Baxter, Jeff Richardson
■ The Coodabeen Champions will perform at Arts Centre
Melbourne, Playhouse on Sunday, September 3, at 4pm.
The Coodabeen Champions are returning to, Arts Centre
Melbourne on Father’s Day to tell a swag of stories and sing
songs about the game they love.
This year for the first time, Covey, Champs, Billy and Richo
will appear on stage with members of the Footscray-Yarraville
City Band.
The Coodabeen Champions presented their inaugural Arts
Centre Melbourne show to a full house in 2014 and returned in
2015 and 2016 with sold-out performances.
The comedic broadcasters are limbering up for this year’s
Father’s Day performance and make no mistake, they’ve come
to play and will have a red hot go.
Featuring live footy talkback, their own interpretations of hit
songs and their own brand of footy lexicon, the boys will have all
their skills on display.
This special live show will showcase new material and of
course, all the old favourites: Pearl from the Peninsula, Peter
from Peterborough, Nige from North Fitzroy and Guru Bob.
“Now we’ve reached the fourth year of performing at Arts
Centre Melbourne we can truly call this a ‘time-honoured’
event,” The Coodabeens said.
“Under our formula, the first is the inaugural, the second is
annual, the third is traditional and then anything after that is,
indeed, time-honoured.”
When The Coodabeen Champions hit the 3RRR airwaves in
1981 with their simple formula, they broke new ground for sports
coverage.
And, a bit like the AFL teams of today, The Coodabeens did
their share of building the playing list. In an ever-changing footy
world, the group have remained one of the enduring constants
thanks to an engaging combination of footy knowledge and inthe-outer experience.
The Coodabeens and their ever-popular show on ABC Radio
Melbourne have managed to stay at the top of the game through
four decades and they’re still riding high on the airwaves without
ever bottoming out or being the subject of tanking allegations.
● Pierre Ulric. Photo: Jack Hawkins
Irreverence, humour and the odd tall story will be the order of
■ A French Canadian native based in Perth, Pierre Ulric
the day when The Coodabeens take the microphone in the intionce again had audiences baffled, mystified, and stumped
mate confines of Arts Centre Melbourne’s Playhouse Theatre
for his second year at the Melbourne Magic Festival.
From small beginnings in 2008 the Melbourne Magic
this September.
Festival has grown to over 300 performances by 65 perPerformance details: Sunday, September 3 at 4pm
formers from Australia and guest international magicians
Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse
as part of the largest festival of its kind in the Southern
Bookings: artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183.
Hemisphere.
Turn To Page 30
- Cheryl Threadgold

Audiences baffled

Page 30 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Observer
Showbiz
Country
Crossroads

By Rob Foenander
info@countrycrossroads.com.au

Vale Roger Lloyd
■ Casey Radio 97.7FM presenter and well
respected country music supporter Roger
Lloyd passed away on July 11 after a long
battle with cancer.
Roger's radio career spanned well over
three decades beginning at 3PBS-FM in 1979
before joining Casey in the early nineties.
He worked tirelessly promoting his passion for country rock music and raised the
profile of numerous local artists who regularly featured on his show Rebels Rednecks
and Rock n Roll.
G

Tex, Don, Charlie

■ Three Australian music legends have
teamed up for a massive Australian series
of shows whilst promoting their new album,
You Don't Know Lonely.
Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie
Owen take to the stage at St Kilda's Memo
Music Hall on Sunday, September 3, for their
third show.
Their two previous concerts were sold out.
Tickets at www.memomusichall.com.au

New for Morrie
■ Narre Warren singer and entertainer
Morrie Mathews has released his second album Vol 2.
The theme is very much middle of the
road and Elvis.
No doubt it is sure to be well received by
his Morning Melodies fans.
- Rob Foenander

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

News around Victoria

Zara in Nova Red Room
■ Award-winning singer and songwriter Zara
Larsson is the latest artist to perform for Nova’s
Red Room on Thursday next week (July 27).
Larsson shot to international fame in 2013
with the release of her debut EP album Introducing.
In February she released her international
debut album So Good which produced the hit
singles Lush Life, Never Forget You’ ft. MNEK,
Ain’t My fault, I Would Like and Symphony.
Zara Larsson has since collaborated with
some of the industry’s biggest artists including
Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Clean Bandit,
WizKid and her latest sing, Don’t Let Me Be
Yours co-written with Ed Sheeran.
Her work has gained international recognition, winning Best New Act at the 2016 MTV
Europe Music Awards for Never Forget You
and the 19-year-old Swedish artist was named
one of Time Magazine’s ’30 Most Influential
Teens of 2016’.
In her first performance for Nova’s Red
Room, listeners can win their invitation to see
Zara Larsson in this money-can’t-buy experience by tuning into Nova or registering at
novafm.com.au
Nova's Red Room is said to be Australia's
premier intimate live music experience that provides fans with a money can’t buy experience
with the world’s biggest artists.
Established in 2012, Nova's Red Room works
closely with record labels and promoters and
has seen more than 150 artists perform including Lorde, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Coldplay
and Sam Smith.
In 2014 Nova Entertainment took the live
music brand international with Nova's Red Room
Global Tour.

■ Author A J Cronin
was born in Scotland
in 1896. Died aged 84
in 1981.
Brian May, guitarist
with Queen, was born
in London in 1947
(69).
Australian TV preseneter Catriona Rowntree is 46. She is now
also a wool farmer
based in Geelong.

Each year fans have travelled to various overseas destinations, including the USA, UK, Ireland and Dubai, to see some of the hottest artists.
This year winners had the ultimate travel and
music experience, in LA, Rhode Island, Las
Vegas and New York, to see The Chainsmokers,
Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris and Katy Perry.

Red Symons off air
■ ABC Melbourne breakfast announcer, Red
Symons, is on sick leave.
He explains why in this statement. “Hello
everybody! Just over a week ago, on Wednesday July 5, when walking home from the supermarket I experienced a sudden lack of consciousness.
“This resulted in a fall, with my head hitting
the pavement. I am currently in hospital, thankful to be receiving the best of medical attention
and working on a speedy recovery.
“I’m sorry for this unexpected absence, but
do look forward to getting back to work as soon
as possible”

Latest ratings
■ Melbourne commercial station 3AW won the
latest ratings survey, results being announced
last week. Fox FM’s Hamish and Andy beat
3AW’s Tom Elliott in the Drive shift.
Pacific Star Network Director Ron Hall used
to say of the old 3AK station that it had more
readers than listeners. The same could be said
for Macquarie Radio Network’s Magic 1278
Talking Lifestyle which now has less than 1-in200 available listeners tuning in.

● From Page 29

Pierre Ulric’s White Lies
The term White Lies is intrinsically linked to
magic and illusion. Just what the performance
by Pierre Ulric is about.
Ulric is no amateur with 20 years of perfecting and performing the art and this certainly
showed in his latest offering of White Lies.
Where does one start as we were party to
psychological illusions, mind-control, hypnosis
and visual hallucinations.
Audience participation was a key to many of
his coincidences where mystery and perception played a vital role in the outcome of his
many ”tricks” or were they just illusions?
How could he being blindfolded draw an accurate image of an audience member unseen
and chosen by the audience at random?
How with sealed envelopes that he gave to

r
Obser vbeiz
On This Day
Show

Wednesday Thursday
July 20
July 19

The Association

Radio

■ Australian actress
Vivean Gray was born in
England in 1924. She
played Mrs Jessop in
The Sullivans.
American
actress
Natalie Wood was born in
1938. She died aged 43
in 1981.
Radio-TV man Ken
Sparkes was born in
Sydney in 1940. His
death has been mourned.

random audience members could they reveal
intimate details of that person?
I can say that my friend was certainly unknown to him but the envelope enclosed the
correct spelling of his first name.
A burning ball of aluminium foil, the bending
of spoons and forks all with audience participation and much much more made this a very
intriguing show that certainly would have taken
years to perfect.
No sceptics here but just leaving me and
many others …how did that happen?
The 80-minute performance was well paced
and with great dialogue to suit.
Try to catch a performance of Pierre Urlic
somewhere in Australia in the future.
- Review by Graeme McCoubrie

■ Girls Act Good (GAG) present The Association, an immersive theatre experience
number until July 30 at 64 Pentland Pde,
Yarraville.
Drawing inspiration from Frankenstein,
The Stepford Wives and the Country Women’s
Association (CWA), The Association is set in
a secret women’s meeting where a select
group have been invited to take part in a bold
new program.
The meeting's agenda quickly changes
from the perfect recipe for jam sponge to
how to create the perfect partner ... and a
horrific experiment is revealed.
Formed by Jennifer Monk in 2013, Girls
Act Good (GAG) is an all-female ensemble
of actors, writers, directors, producers and
designers based in Melbourne.
The focus of GAG is to create opportunities for women to extend their creative skills
while working on challenging material that is
not afraid to ask the difficult questions.
The women of GAG create complex characters that explore all aspects of human nature and give a voice to people and their stories that normally go unheard and unnoticed.
With two major theatre productions and a
short film produced, written and created by
the GAG ensemble, the girls are ready to take
their work to the next level.
The Association will shine a light on both
theMcAuley Community Services forWomen
and GROW within the piece, to bring awareness to the extraordinary work and dedication that these community programs provide.
GAG will be taking over the unique venue
Number 64 in Yarraville, for a four-week residency for their most challenging project to
date.
Beginning with this two-week season of
an immersive theatre experience, they will
then re-work the piece, in the same location,
to create a low budget, festival-ready film.
All ticket sales from this theatrical event will
fund the film element of the project.
All members who are acting in the project
have also taken on a creative behind-thescenes role to bring this project to life.
A fast paced, thriller that asks the question: how far will you go to change another
for the chance of a better life?
Produced by Jennifer Monk, Perri
Cummings and Lee McClenaghan; written
by Perri Cummings and directed by Lee
McClenaghan .
Performed by Perri Cummings. Hannah
Davies, Lisa Dallinger, Emily Joy, Kelley
Kerr Young, Lee McClenaghan and Jennifer Monk.
Performance dates and times: July 19,
20, 21 and 23 at 7.30pm; July 22, 27, 28, 29,
30 at 7.30pm and 9.30pm
Venue: 64, 64 Pentland Parade, Yarraville
Tickets: $23/$28
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/
QGKE
- Cheryl Threadgold
Melbourne

Observer

Friday
July 21

Saturday
July 22

■ US author Ernest
Hemingway was norn in
1899. He died aged 61
in 1961.
Comic author Don
Knotts was born in
1924. He died aged 81
in 2006.
Australian actor
Michael Caton was born
in Queensland in 1943
(74). He played Uncle
Harry in The Sullivans.

■ Comedian Dan Rowan
was born in 1922.
He died aged 65 in
1987.
He was one of the cohosts of the popular
Laugh-In show
English actor Terence
Stamp was born in London in 1939.
US actress Selena
Gomez was born in Texas
in 1992 (25).

Sunday
July 23
■ Bert Newton was
born in North Fitzroy in
1938 (79). He started
in TV in 1956.
Actress Abigail
(Rogan) was born in
London in 1946 (71).
Collingwood football
legend Tony Shaw is
57. Australian actress
Bec Cartwright was
born in Sydney in
1983 (34).

Monday
July 24

■ Jimmy Tunz is 35.
Painter Arthur Boyd was
born in Murrum-beena in
1920. He died aged 78
in 1999.
US comedienne Ruth
Buzzi was born in 1936
(81).
Actor
Michael
Richards (Kramer in
Seinfeld) was born in Culver City, California, in
1948 (69).

Tuesday
July 25
■ American character
actor Walter Brennan
was born in 1894. He
died aged 80 in 1974.
Seekers vocalist/guitarist Bruce Woodley is
75 (1942).
US actor Matt Le
Blanc was born in
Newtown, Massachusetts, in 1967. The
Friends star (19942004) is 50.

Thanks to GREG NEWMAN of Jocks Journal for assistance with birthday and anniversary dates.
Jocks Journal is Australia’s longest running radio industry
publication.
■ Melbourne
Find out more at www.jocksjournal.com

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

ShowBiz!

Observer
Showbiz

One Act Plays

■ For the past 125 years, some 60 new Australian One Act Plays have been recognised
and performed as well as sharing in cash
awards.
Open to novice and emerging playwrights,
all entries are judged and following the announcement of the three finalist plays they
then go into rehearsal, ready for their premiere performance season planned for November.
There is no restriction regarding topic,
theme, gender or basis of play.
Entries can be lodged at any time up to
August 20.
For further information , please email:
playhouseplayers@hotmail.com or download the entry and conditions booklet from
the website: playhouseplayers.org.au
- Graeme McCoubrie

Melbourne Obser ver - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - Page 31

TV, Radio, Theatre
Latest Melbourne show business news - without fear or favour

Sting in the Tale

Foto Biennale

■ The Ballarat International Foto Biennale
has announced the 28 finalists in the running
for the inaugural Martin Kantor Portrait
Prize.
The $15,000 cash first prize, will be
awarded to the work judged to be an exceptional photographic portrait of a significant
Australian distinguished in the arts, letters,
science sports or politics.
“I couldn't be more thrilled with the selected short list of photographers for the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize exhibition,” said
director Fiona Stewart.
“We received over 150 entries and whittling it down to the final 28 was an incredibly
hard decision for our experienced panel of
judges. What a great start to establishing a
portraiture collection of significant Australians in Ballarat,” Ms Stewart said.
The finalists include works by Elli Bardas,
Chris Budgeon, Brian Cassey, David Darcy,
Tamara Dean, George Fetting, Hilary Finch,
James Geer, John Gollings, Luke Hemer,
Pia Johnson, Tony Kearney, Helga Leunig,
Robyn McRae, Rod McNicol, Ferne Millen,
Nadia Moth, Ilona Nelson, Emma Phillips,
Claudio Raschella, Matt Ray, Pippa
Samaya, Jacqui Stockdale, Christian Thompson, Tobias Titz, Peter Whyte and Elizabeth Yore.
The selection was made by a professional
panel of judges: Naomi Cass (Director, Centre for Contemporary Photography), Isobel
Crombie (Assistant Director, NGV) and
Leonard Vary (CEO, Myer Foundation).
Supported by the Dara Foundation, the
acquisitive first prize is named in memory of
the late Martin Kantor, a photographer and
philanthropist who was known for his arresting portraits of famous musicians and artists
such as Iggy Pop and Howard Arkley, as
well as for his strong and active support of
indigenous and environmental causes.
His image of Mark Seymour, the lead
singer of Hunters and Collectors, was used
by the band for an album cover and is a classic representation of Australian rock and roll.
The exhibition will take place at the
Ballarat Town Hall and the winner will be
announced at 2pm on Sunday, August 20.
- Cheryl Threadgold

National Gallery

■ Modernism and Melbourne Women Artists. During the 1930s women artists came to
the fore as leaders of the modern movement
in Australia. Learn about the mark they made
on Australian art history.
Speaker: Dr Janine Blake, art historian,
author and curator. Sunday August 6, at 2pm.
Venue: Exhibition Space.
■ Leap into the Modern Dance Culture in
Australia from the 1930s. Explore the unique
art of modern dance in Australia from its philosophies. Saturday August 12. 10qm – 4.45pm
Venue: Theatre Ground Level NGV Australia.
- Peter Kemp

● Michael Redmon(seated), Andrea Staunton, Jonty Reason and Grant
Kennedy.in A Sting in the Tale at Mt Eliza.
■ Frankston Theatre Group presents A Sting we end up not knowing just who has been murin the Tale from July 28 to August 6 at the Mt dered.
Performances: July 28 – August 6, Fridays
Eliza Community Centre.
Written by Brian Clemens and Denis and Saturdays 8pm; Sunday Matinee 2pm
Venue: Mt Eliza Community Centre, CanaSpooner, and directed by Keith Gledhill, the
dian
Bay /Rd.., Mt Eliza.
play tells of two crime-writing playwrights who
Ticket Prices: $28.00 ; Concession $26 ; Chilare endeavouring to write a blockbuster in or- dren under 15 $10
der to pay off their mounting debts.
Bookings: 1300 665 377
As the plot develops they realise who better
Email: secretary@frankstontheatregroup.
to arrange the perfect murder .
org.au
Forbes’s nagging wife is the perfect victim,
www.frankstontheatregroup.org.au
but the secretary is murdered by mistake, and
- Cheryl Threadgold

By A Thread
■ One Fell Swoop Circus’s
presentation of By A Thread at
Gasworks Arts Park showcases the amazing circus talents of the troupe assembled
by directors Jonathan Morgan
and Charice Rust.
Other ensemble members
include Ryan Darwin, Piri
Goodman, Sarah Berrell,
Luke Thomas and Ela
Bartilomo.
These seven circus artists
all honed their abilities at
Melbourne’s NICA (National
Institute of Circus Arts).
The performers use long
spools of white rope run
through pulley sheaves to wrap
around their bodies.
This rope connects their
movements together both on
and above the ground.
Like the boom and sheets
of a sailing ship, the performers are hoisted and swung by
one another.
The actions of one acrobat
affect and implicate the movements of others in a precise
negotiation of movements
showcasing, cause and effect.
The seamless choreography gives the effect of total
weightlessness.
The trust the artists show in
each other throughout the performance enhances their exploration of balance, fun and
risk.
The creative ensemble
wanted to show that this metaphysical state could relate to
real relationships.
This is a lesson in an en-

● Jordan O'Brien, Ryan Darwin, Amanda Lee,
Jonathan Morgan, Emily Chilvers, Ela Bartilomo and
Hamish Norris in By a Thread. Photo: Aaron Walker.
semble being as one. Strength, own style, with costumes by
fitness and purity of movement Emily Barrie enhancing their
are something to applaud. This individuality.
ensemble showed they have all
I congratulate the troupe for
this and more.
taking the original 20-minute
Sound designed by Lee performance and extending it
Stout was exemplary and set into a full live-theatre perforthe mood for each of the se- mance, showing a combination
quences.
of danger, comedy and theatCircus Lighting Designers, rics.
After Dark Theatre gave the
Details of the troupe can be
performance the necessary found at onefellswoop
edginess.
circus.com
Each performer had their
- Review by Lyn Hurst

Media Flashes
■ Kirsten Robb has joined The Project as a News Associate Producer. Kirsten had previously been a Senior Journalist for Domain at The Age.
■ Alexandra Beech has joined the ABC’s AM as the
program’s Political Producer.
■ Kahla Preston has started as a Network Writer for lifestyle
and entertainment site, 9 Honey.

Next Fall

● Mark Davis and Paul Robertson
■ Geoffrey Nauffts’s Next Fall is an examination not only of the challenges within a relationship but also of the difficulties imposed
by beliefs and societal restraints.
Adam (Darrin Redgate)and Luke (Mark
Davis) are a gay couple whose individual
spiritual convictions make their relationship
problematic.
Adam is a 40-something atheist while the
younger Luke is a fundamentalist Christian
who hasn’t yet “come out” to his divorced
parents.
Nauffts uses the spiritual divide between
the couple to explore and ridicule the notion
of homosexuality as sinful. The complication
thrown into the mix is an accident leaving
Luke on his hospital death-bed creating a situation where faith, belief, rejection and compassion need to be reconciled.
Luke’s mother, Arlene, (Kaarin Fairfax)
perhaps realises but does not fully acknowledge who Luke truly is when speaking with
Adam but her former husband, Butch (Paul
Robertson), is an entrenched ‘redneck’.
Adam even tests the waters by broaching
the subject of evolution. Holly (Sharon Davis)
and Brandon (James Biasetto) are friends in
the hospital waiting room providing further
dimension and perspective on the dynamic
that unfolds. Holly once harboured feelings
for Adam and fundamentalist Brandon was
Luke’s former partner.
The first act seems a little didactic in its
exploration of Christian sin but the second
act is an acknowledgement that, despite entrenched beliefs, people in need require support and compassion when suffering and this
necessitates compromise.
The heavy-handedness of the first act
might have been alleviated with a greater
subtlety of direction (Peter Blackburn) to
show the connection betweenAdam and Luke.
Why would they still be together if their
beliefs are so polarised? But the cast were all
believable and suitably irritating as and when
their roles required. The greatest challenge
was the accents which were generally sustained.
The production elements were disappointing.A more imaginative approach was needed
with the set (James Lew). Multiple locations
on a small stage can be handled with lighting
changes (Megz Evans) rather than an insistence on set pieces; living room, waiting room.
In fact, the multiple changes Nauffts has
written in make it too awkward for some cast
to ‘realistically’change. An engaged audience can transcend this if treated properly.
And some of the sound cues (Linton
Wilkinson) started and ended abruptly.
Christian fundamentalism in Australia is
slightly different to the American brand but
the argument is no less important especially
where characters have to struggle with their
rights and their own personal demons.
Chapel off Chapel. Until July 30
- Review by David McLean

Page 32 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Observer
Showbiz
What’s Hot and What’s Not
in Blu-Rays and DVDs
FILM:
ALONE IN BERLIN:
Genre:
Drama.
Cast:
Brendan Gleeson, Emma Thompson, Daniel Bruhl.
Year:
2016.
Rating:
MA15+
Length:
103 Minutes.
Stars:
***½
Verdict: Gripping and haunting story of a working class couple in
1940 Berlin who receive news that their only son has lost his life in
the battlefield, so they decide to resist the Nazi regime in their very
own way by writing anti-Hitler/Nazi cards and leaving them scattered throughout the city, and before long the Gestapo is hunting a
major threat. Based on the extraordinary true story of Otto and
Anna Quangel, Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson portray the
embittered and disillusioned couple with a sadness and dignity with
great emotional effect, as do Daniel Bruhl as the investigating Police officer and Mikael Persbrandt as the brutal SS Officer. However, the film does only slightly lack the urgency and intensity that
was captured with nail-biting and shattering effect in 2005's similarly themed "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days." Nonetheless, the flaws
are minor, as this is a highly respectful and competently executed
fact-based thriller with enough grip and emotional effect to make
the journey well worth the effort. Previously filmed as a West German TV movie in 1962, an East German mini-series in 1970, and
as the West German feature film "Everyone Dies Alone" in 1976.
This is the first English language version bringing the story to an
international audience. Those interested in reading further on this
story, the book translated into English for the first time in 2010.
Highly recommended!
FILM:
AFTERMATH:
Genre:
Drama/Thriller.
Cast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scoot McNairy, Maggie
Grace.
Year:
2017.
Rating:
MA15+
Length:
94 Minutes.
Stars:
***
Verdict: Inspired by actual events, the lives of two complete strangers
become inextricably bound together after a devastating plane crash
after an air traffic controllers error causes the death of a construction foreman's wife and daughter and he feels compelled for revenge. Slow burning and compelling drama with both Schwarzenegger
and McNairy giving solid performances, and though slightly flawed
on some of its authenticity, it is nonetheless a worthy watch. Aftermath is based on the real-life crash of Bashkirian Airlines Flight
2937 and DHL Flight 611 when the two planes crashed into each
other in midair over the town of Überlingen, Germany on July 1,
2002. Though names and places were changed for the film,
Schwarzenegger's character is based on Russian born Vitaly Kaloyev,
a former architect who murdered Peter Nielsen, an air traffic controller handling traffic when the collision occurred. He was found
not guilty for the main responsibility in the inquest. However, Kaloyev
held Nielsen responsible, and in 2004 he travelled to the Swiss
town of Kloten and stabbed him to death. The story is also the basis
of an episode of "Air Crash Investigation" entitled "Deadly Crossroads."
Father's Day recommendation:
FILM:
THE STEVEN SPIELBERG DIRECTOR'S COLLECTION
(Box Set):
Genre:
Thriller/Comedy/Drama/Sci-Fi/War.
Cast:
Goldie Hawn, Dennis Weaver, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Audrey
Hepburn, Richard Attenborough, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Treat
Williams, and Many More!
Year:
Assorted Years/TBC/Assorted Running Times.
Stars:
*****
Verdict: Outstanding selection of Steven Spielberg films, four of
which are released on Blu-ray for the first time. With an extraordinary career spanning over 40 years, this spectacular Blu-ray box
set features multi Oscar winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg's Universal Pictures classics and includes his first nail-biting feature DUEL
(1971) starring Dennis Weaver, his first theatrical made feature,
the gripping THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974) starring Oscar winner Goldie Hawn, followed by the all-time classic blockbuster JAWS
(1975) with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, the
epic all-star-cast WWII comedy 1941 (1979) featuring John Belushi,
Dan Aykroyd, Robert Stack, Christopher Lee, Toshiro Mifune, Treat
Williams and Ned Beatty, and includes both the Theatrical & Extended Versions, the poignant and thrilling blockbuster fantasy-adventure E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982), the heartwarming
romantic-comedy-drama ALWAYS (1989) with Richard Dreyfuss,
John Goodman, Holly Hunter and the irreplaceable Audrey Hepburn
in her final big screen role, the groundbreaking and spectacular
edge-of-your-seat adventure JURASSIC PARK (1993) with Sam Neill,
Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough, and finally,
the thrilling sequel THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997) with
Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore and Richard Attenborough. Each title
is available individually on DVD. It just doesn't get any better than
this!
- James Sherlock

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Movies, DVDs
With Jim Sherlock and Aaron Rourke

Rourke’s Reviews:
Shin Godzilla
■ (M). 120 minutes. Available on
Blu-Ray and 2 DVD Set On July
19.
Big budget reboot of the indefatigable giant lizard, given the
kind of care and energy that is required to entertain his huge fan
base.
Like other entries in this longrunning series, there is a lot of talk,
but the film-makers cleverly intersperse the big guy amongst the human conflict.
When a huge eruption happens
out at sea, the federal government
are immediately on the back foot
trying to figure out what the cause
is.
One public servant, going on the
data he has collected, suggests the
existence of a giant underwater
creature, a theory that is unanimously laughed at.
When the creature turns out to
be real, the race is on to try and
defeat it, before the mutated reptile destroys the entire city.
A lot of money has been spent
on this production, and it shows,
with an impressive array of physical, miniature, and CGI effects, and
some of the action set-pieces are
genuinely eye-popping.
The other surprise asset is the
film's satirically focused attack on
government bureaucracy, noticeably critiquing mistakes made after recent, infamous nuclear disasters.
As the film progresses, there are
also comments made about the use
of nuclear weaponry, and how once
used, it can then be too readily relied upon again, even though better
options may be available.
The production has managed to
amass a huge cast (there are apparently around 300 speaking
parts), with well-known actors filling even minor roles.
Those expecting a slam-bang finale may feel that the concluding
confrontation is somewhat anti-climactic, but it does fit in with the
themes elaborated on beforehand.
After the disastrous, wrongheaded 1998 version (directed by
Roland Emmerich and starring
Matthew Broderick), there have
only been a handful of Godzilla
films since - including the enjoyable Godzilla 2000 (1999), the uneven but unfairly panned Godzilla:
Final Wars (2004), and the wonderfully respectful Godzilla in
2014.
This smart, stylish, and intelligently large-scale entry (which was
a box-office sensation and won several Japanese Academy Awardsincluding Best Picture) ensures that
Godzilla will continue to rock our
screens for years to come.
Given its incredible success, it
is no surprise that a sequel (as well
as a CGI-animated feature) will be
gracing our screens in the near future.
Madman Entertainment have
secured a number of extras dealing the epic production, so there is
plenty of material for fans to sink
their teeth into.
RATING - ****

Kong: Skull
Island
■ (M). 118 minutes. Available on
Blu-Ray, 4K UHD, 3D, and DVD
On July 19.
It is simply perfect timing that
two iconic giants of cinema are arriving on the home viewing format
on the same day.
Along with the hugely entertaining Shin Godzilla, Kong : Skull Island is also a grandly executed production, crafted with skill by a team
that care about how this famous
beast is brought to the screen.
After a short prologue set during
1944, the story moves forward to
the early 1970's, where the US is
showing serious fatigue from the
effects of the Vietnam War.
During this chaotic time, conspiracy theorist Bill Randa (John
Goodman) and his colleagues
manage to obtain unlikely support
from the government, financing an
unusual fact-finding mission to an
uncharted island in the South Pacific.
To save money, the department
assign the expedition as a military
operation, and use soldiers who
have been brought home from the
expensive, failing Vietnam conflict.
Placed in charge is Commander
Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), who is unhappy about being
pulled out of the War, but also feels
empty that there was no sense of
closure or victory.
Once these characters arrive on
the island, they will all encounter a
very different kind of opponent, one
too that despises its homeland being invaded.
After Peter Jackson's exquisite,
labour-of-love adaptation in 2005,
the thought of another Kong movie
seemed a risky proposition, but director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The
Kings Of Summer) shows a surprising mix of confidence, style, and
respect.
He supplies a number of exciting action set-pieces that hark back
to other classic adventure films, but
Vogt-Roberts is just as interested
in the darker undertones of the material, and as the story progresses,
he references Francis Ford
Coppola's brilliant Apocalypse Now
both visually and thematically. Kong
himself is an impressive creation,
and the state-of-the-art special effects makes him seem like a living,
breathing creature.
In cinemas the 3D was impressive, so if you have the set-up at
home, please make this large scale
extravaganza all the more
immersive. Finally, make sure you
watch until the very end.
RATING - ****
- Aaron Rourke

● Keith Hutton (Manle) and Eleni
Miller (Annie) in The Housekeeper.
Photo: Lorraine Bell.
■ Encore Theatre Company presents The
Housekeeper until July 23 at the Clayton
Theatrette, Cooke St., Clayton.
Written by James Prideaux and directed
by Geoff Hickey, The Housekeeper is an offbeat, zany comedy which deals with the unlikely relationship that develops between a
middle-aged, rather stuffy bachelor and the
eccentric bag lady he hires as his housekeeper.
Manley is a self-styled literary artist who
engages housekeeper Annie to look after his
large Victorian house – and himself.
When Annie arrives wearing sneakers and
carrying her belongings in a grocery cart, we
quickly learn that she is an oddball – she insults her employer, admitting she forged her
references and accuses Manley of lusting
after her.
When Manley finally loses his temper and
attempts to chase Annie away, he finds himself face to face with an unexpected struggle.
Performances: July 22 at 2.15pm Evenings: July 20, 21 and 22 at 8pm
Tickets: Singles $25 – Seniors/Concessions $23 Groups (10 or more) $21 per person
Venue: Clayton Community Centre Cnr
Cooke Street and Centre Road, Clayton
Bookings: Box Office 1300 739 099

SKETCHY AT BEST

● Michael ‘Spank’ Argus and Charlie
Ranger in Sketchy at Best.
■ Comedy duo The Lioness is ready to bring
all-new laughs off the back of their sell-out Comedy Festival season to The Butterfly Club between August 8 -13.
This double act was conceived two years
ago and has since built its name with performances at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the NCDFREE Global Launch,
The Global Ideas Forum and Festival21.
The Lioness is one of Melbourne’s freshest
duos to hit the comedy scene.
Their new show, Sketchy at Best, will be pointing the finger at the serious, the stupid and the
just plain weird that makes our world go round.
From GPs diagnosing a man’s child as a
horse, to Pauline Hansen getting possessed by
Islam – Exorcist style, this show isn’t afraid to
push social and political satire to its limits.
Sketchy at Best is a show that takes big and
small ideas and weaves them into 50 minutes of
clean, sharp comedy that hits its mark.
Dates: Aug 8 -13. Time: 8.30pm. Cost: $25 $32. Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place,
Melbourne. Tickets: www.thebutterflyclub.
com/show/sketchy-at-best

And the Big Men fly
■ Sherbrooke Theatre Company presents And The Big
Men Fly from July 21
– August 5 at the
Doncaster Playhouse, 679 Doncaster
Rd, Doncaster.
Written by Alan
Hopgood and directed by Tony Bird,
the story is set in
1963, and Achilles
Jones, the world’s
greatest kicker,
couldn't care less that
the East Melbourne
Galah's have not won
the VFL premiership
in 30 years.
He just wants to
stay on the farm with
his beloved horse
Milly.
Can the Galah's
President J. J. Forbes
entice him down to the
big smoke to win the
flag for the long suffering Galah's faithful?
This is a classic
Aussie play from a
bygone era when our
great game was still
played by the fans.
Performance
Dates: July 21, 22, 23
(matinee), 27, 28, 29,
30(matinee), August
3, 4, 5.
Venue: Doncaster
Playhouse, 679
Doncaster
Rd.,
Doncaster
Bookings 1300 650
209 or at www.
sherbrooketc.org.au

CO-WORKING SPACES
■ Opportunity is available to become part of a thriving creative
community in one of Melbourne’s newest co-working
spaces in the heart of Melbourne
Arts Precinct at 152 Sturt St,
Southbank.
Architecturally designed,
Guild Cowork has 32 desks available on a daily or monthly basis.
This work space aims to offer
a collaborative environment
among like-minded creatives.
Tailored to creative industries,
desks are available for either $25
ex GST per day or for $300 ex
GST per month. A light and plantfilled space that offers high speed
internet, printing and scanning
facilities, meeting room access,
lockable storage and 24/7 access.

Creative Spaces: Guild recently transformed over 1000m2
of vacant retail space into a collection of arts spaces and includes: the National Institute of
Dramatic Arts (NIDA),
Melbourne Fringe, a flexible rehearsal space for hire, Cafe Godot
and a curated public gallery Assembly Point, that links Sturt and
Moore Sts.
Creative Spaces: Guild is the
result of local and state government partnering to provide affordable space
To get a desk at Guild
Cowork, visit: www.creative
spaces.net.au/find-a-space/
guild-cowork
Creative Spaces is a program
of the City of Melbourne Arts

Melbourne

Observer
WATER CHILD
■ Pawprint Productions presents Water
Child for eight performances from September 1-9 at Crossroads Uniting Church,
Werribee.
One in six couples struggle with fertility,
and familial fractures, pain, loss and the desperate need for a child are the bases of this
award winning play, Water Child, by Australian playwright, Emma Wood, directed by
KrisWeber.
Jeannie and Mark are dynamic, intelligent and capable. Their marriage is happy
and balanced, their careers bloom.
They are successful, confident, fulfilled.
Or that’s how it appears. But unlike family
and friends, who have effortlessly brought
children into the world, they have not.
Jeannie’s 40th birthday, a night planned
for celebration, leads them to an abyss which
threatens to engulf them and all they have
built together.
Family and friends weigh in with wellmeant but not always well worded advice –
but what to say when no one knows why you
can’t do what everyone else can? And when
it’s too hard to talk about it at all? And how do
you prevent two people who are mired in
shame, sorrow and panic pushing you away?
One in six couples struggle with fertility.
And yet the subject remains taboo. Award
winning Australian play Water Child offers
a rare glimpse into the myriad of difficulties
faced by so many – and talked about by so
few.
"Emma Wood's Water Child is a very personal journey that is written with both humour
and pathos," says director, Kris Weber.
“It is a powerful and poignant tale that
reflects the hardship of many couples who
so desperately want to become parents.
“It also honours the children lost to miscarriage as well as giving us a sensitive perspective on the pain and sorrow involved with
that loss from both parent's perspective."
Kris Weber is an actor and director in the
Melbourne theatre scene whose recent productions include: Killing Jeremy, The Dixie
Swim Club, The Other Place, Almost Maine
and Death and the Maiden.
Emma Wood is an award-winning playwright, actor and director whose lifelong passion for theatre has extended to acting, directing, and writing plays.
Water Child was born of personal experience and a growing awareness of the widespread but often silent suffering of those who
struggle with fertility.
Another motivation was to write strong
and passionate roles for women of all ages.
She is pleased to bring back Pawprint
Productions, a company she and her husband created in Ballarat in 2005, producing
four successful productions over their two
years there.
Cast: Marti Ibrahim, Travis Handcock,
Gabriella Mazzarino, Rachel Clayton,
Stephanie King.
Water Child was produced by Newcastle
Theatre Company where it won Best New
Play in 2012 at the City of Newcastle Drama
Awards. The following year saw a return
season and tour to the Adelaide Fringe.
Performance Season. Opening Night: Friday September 1 at 8pm; Saturday September 2 at 2pm and 8pm’ Wednesday September 6 at 8pm;Thursday September 7 at 8pm;
Friday September 8 at 8pm; Saturday September 9 at 2pm and 8pm.
Where: Crossroads Uniting Church, Corner Duncans Rd. and Synnot St., Werribee
Bookings: www.trybooking.com/book/
event?eid=279907
- Cheryl Threadgold
■ Cheryl Threadgold heads our team of
honorary reviewers including Mark Briggs,
Rita Crispin, Martin Curtis, Sherryn
Danaher, Greg Every, Lyn Hurst, Kathryn
Keeble, Beth Klein, Deborah Marinaro,
Graeme McCoubrie, Catherine, McGregor,
David McLean, Maggie Morrison, Jill Page,
Kylie Rackham, Elizabeth Semmel.

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